


The Trouble With Kissing Boys

by Hello_Sadie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Action & Romance, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Makes Puns, Blushing, Chinese New Year, Dating, Dresses, Explicit Language, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Handcuffed Together, Harassment, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Identity Reveal, Injury, Kissing, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Making Out, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Neck Kissing, Necklaces, Social Media, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 73,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29153310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_Sadie/pseuds/Hello_Sadie
Summary: Chat Noir felt like he was getting nowhere with Ladybug. Marinette had to figure out how to finally get over Adrien. So it was kismet when Marinette wandered into an akuma attack where the supervillain bound people together. Chat Noir and Marinette had to talk about their feelings, and found that a kiss was just what they needed to undo the magical link keeping them together. But when video gets of the exchange between the two, Marinette finds herself in the middle of a social media frenzy. Sure, it was nice of Chat Noir to check on her to make sure she was okay, but it was even nicer for the two to share more kisses in private. Now Adrien has to figure out how to deal with falling in love with the girl right behind him, when she has no idea the boy under the mask she kissed was the boy sitting right in front of her.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 173
Kudos: 353





	1. The Necklace

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time uploading to AO3, so please have mercy on me. I've recently gotten into MLB, and I just had to write something for it. The events in this story take place after season 3 and the New Yor special, they are about 16 in this story. I hope you enjoy!

Adrien mulled over the problem in front of him, jiggling his pen with nervous energy as he found himself stumped on a math question. He had never let his grades slip before, but this test was looking as though he might start. Usually, balancing being Cat Noir and a regular student and model was no problem, but lately, he had trouble concentrating. His father was booking the normal amount of work for him, his lessons continued as normal, his normal life was going on just fine. 

It was the akumatizations that were getting to him. People must have been in a foul mood as of late for so many to become victims of Hawk Moth. 

He could only assume it had something to do with Valentine’s Day coming around the corner. Really, he couldn’t blame people for feeling so forlorn coming up to the holiday. They were in Paris, coming up on the most romantic day of the year. He started getting his piles of Valentine’s from admirers. And all he could think about was the one person he was feeling like he would never get a letter from. 

Something about this Valentine’s Day had people particularly frustrated. Maybe it had something to do with the ads his father’s company was running - using Adrien as the model for, of course - that was encouraging people to buy from a new line of jewelry being sold at Gabriel fashion stores. Really pushing the ‘secret admirer’ and ‘romantic confessions’ aspect of love. The last three victims were akumatized because of rejection.

It was particularly insulting when a villain slammed him into a bus with his picture plastered on the side of it. He looked up at himself, wearing the black button-down shirt with the collar popped up, a red shirt underneath in stark contrast. He had his finger to his lips, bringing you into his secret with a wink. The sweetheart necklace recently launched by his father shimmered in a box held in his other hand.

A few minutes later, the rejected (no longer akumatized) victim pointed to that very advertisement, though this one was on a billboard. “I don’t get it. It looked so successful in the commercial.”

Ah, yes, the commercial. Chat Noir cringed, but quickly schooled his features. It was almost as bad as the fragrance ad. In it, Adrien would walk into a room, the camera panning upwards as everything became dreamy. It was taken from the vantage point of the girl he’s wooing. So, of course, there were fans and petals flying all around. Hazy twinkling lights, flickering candles - the works. He delivered some corny lines to make the girl feel beautiful, then put his finger up to his lips and winked. “Close your eyes,” he said simply. The screen winked to black before he said, “Open them, my darling.” He almost said, “my lady,” so many times while saying that line, the director threatened to replace him. Honestly, Adrien should have insisted on being replaced. Instead, while taking a small break in his trailer, he practiced, “my darling, my darling, my darling,” a million times, offering Plagg the necklace. The laughing from the small kwami only stopped once someone knocked on his door.

Finally, he was able to get the words just right. “Open them, my darling.” The camera winked back to Adrien holding the case, smiling as he opened it to reveal the sweetheart necklace. It was a basic necklace that came in two designs: white gold or gold which connected to an artistically designed heart with either rubies or pink sapphires. The ad used the red and gold design. Nothing special as far as Adrien could see. But the girl gasped on the other side of the camera as the commercial cut to an announcer and close-ups of the necklace. When it cut back, the girl was hugging him. A prominent lipstick kiss was on his cheek.

Aurore played the part of the girlfriend. He thought it was great to play the role with a friend. She, however, seemed annoyed with him when he told her that, though he wasn’t sure why.

Looking down at the necklace that the akumatized man had, Chat Noir had to admit he was unimpressed. Gold with rubies. Everyone always went for the gold with rubies. Frankly, he would have preferred the white gold one with pink sapphires since everyone else seemed to think love meant gold and the reddest of red rubies.

He looked to the only thing red in his life that he appreciated, but Ladybug was looking at the advertisement the man was pointing to with a dreamy look on her face. When she noticed Chat Noir watching her curiously, she looked for a moment like he caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. Clearing her throat, she looked to the man. “Sir, advertising doesn’t always reflect reality,” Ladybug said sympathetically as she helped him to his feet.

Adrien knew rejection hurt, but wow. He would never get so mad at Ladybug for rejecting him to become akumatized. He was happy just to have her in his life. And sure, the advertisement tried to sell an unrealistic event to the lonely men of Paris, but if they couldn’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality, then that was another thing entirely.

The superheroes offered to help the man home, but he wanted to think and walked off. “Sir!” Chat Noir said, picking the necklace box off the ground. “You forgot your necklace!”

“Keep it!” the man yelled as he trudged off. “I don’t need the reminder.”

“But I heard these things are expensive,” Chat Noir said, looking at the box.

“And they’re pretty,” Ladybug said, leaning in to look at it.

“Purrsonally, I like the other color scheme better. I always think of costume jewelry when I see this one.”

“I do, too,” she said. “But it’s not so bad. Good for the spring festival.” Chat Noir looked up at her before his eyes drifted up to the advertisements for the Chinese New Year parade. Red and gold - the colors of the holiday.

“Sounds like you have a future in marketing, my lady! That sounds like a much better commercial than one they went with.”

“I don’t know,” she said with a small, dreamy smirk. “I could imagine planting a lipstick kiss on a boy’s lips.”

“I believe it was his cheek, in the commercial,” Chat Noir corrected, smiling coyly.

“Not if I’m doing it,” Ladybug said with a secret smile to herself. Chat Noir felt himself blush. All he could think was, ‘yes, please.’ Ladybug’s earrings beeped before he could get a true glimpse into Ladybug’s love life. “I should get going,” she said, readying her yo-yo.

But Chat Noir couldn’t resist asking her. “You like the commercial a lot, then?”

Ladybug froze before spinning around, looking nervous. “What? That commercial? I mean, it’s everywhere. Who hasn’t seen it a million times?” She waved her hand dismissively.

Chat Noir laughed softly. That thing was so overplayed, it hurt. “You and I may know the failure rate of the necklace, but hey, at least now we can re-enact it.” Ladybug gave him a look. “As friends, of course,” he added quickly. “Come on! Close your eyes.”

Ladybug let out a sigh, but played along. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes. Chat Noir waved his hand quickly in front of her eyes. He then called up his inner Adrien. If him playing ‘Necklace Guy’ in the commercial could make girls who had stopped noticing him a long time ago suddenly swoon over him in school again, maybe it would work a  
little on Ladybug. He smiled his commercial smile and opened the necklace box. “Open them, my lady,” he said, brimming with happiness at saying it his way.

Ladybug opened her eyes, but instead of looking at the necklace, she looked into his eyes. For a moment, there was a flash of something. Shock? Realization? It was only then that he realized that maybe playing the role that she has seen a million times might clue her into Chat Noir being Adrien. He quickly changed his features to something much more Chat Noir.

Ladybug stared at him for another moment, before laughing nervously and taking the necklace. He smiled, rocking back and forth on his heels. “This is the part where you’re supposed to hug me.”

Ladybug let out something between a breath and a laugh. She then hugged him, and much to his surprise gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, I don’t wear lipstick.”

“Uh, you promised me a kiss on the lips.”

“Give me the right necklace, and then we’ll talk,” she whispered in his ear. He laughed as she pulled away. It was a joke. He knew it was a joke. But not he fantasized about getting the other necklace. “You should keep this. Give it to someone you love on Valentine’s day.”

“We should just cut to the chase,” he said as she put the necklace back into his hand.

“Someone _else_ you love,” she said, booping his nose. “See you, kitty.” With that, she threw her yo-yo and took off.

Someone elbowed him in the ribs. Suddenly, Adrien was back in class with Nino pointing his pencil at his paper. He had written nothing after getting lost in his memories. Concentrating while remembering how Ladybug was so close to him and kissed his cheek, was proving to be difficult.

It didn’t help that someone had filmed the entire exchange. It had ended up as a prominent blog post on the Ladyblog, and by extension, all over any Ladybug and Cat Noir related media. The news had picked it up as a feel-good story to end the news day with. It made its rounds on social media. People made fun of Chat Noir for buying the necklace for Ladybug, and others came to his defense that it was taken out of context. Longer versions of the video circulated to prove it. The video had more views than he could ever deem necessary on YouTube. People made Tik Toks from the audio. Side by side comparison videos of the commercial and the moment with Chat Noir showed up on the r/SuperHeroesofParis subreddit. A blog dedicated to all things LadyNoir did an entire write up critiquing the exchange, and people using different still frames as their profile picture commented on how romantic it all was.

It was exhausting.

He used to love the attention their superhero counterparts would get. People knew of them and appreciated them. It was all mostly a subculture of superhero fans who even knew about them outside of Paris. But the incident in New York made international news. The attention they received stopped being mostly contained to their lovely people of Paris and France, and began spreading worldwide. It made the exchange between him and Ladybug seem even more meaningful to people who didn’t get what they were referencing. Fans who “got the joke” posted links, but misinformation was far easier to spread. 

Adding insult to injury, Adrien himself had become even more popular because of the commercial being shared everywhere. He was getting fan mail in different languages - some of which he didn’t recognize. His professional model portfolio website crashed from the amount of traffic it was suddenly receiving. He was getting e-mails with subject lines like, “Open your eyes, my darling!” They didn’t even bother to quote it correctly. 

All because he just _had_ to indulge in a little bit of fantasy with Ladybug.

Surely, she hated it. He wished it didn’t become so public. He wished it was just a moment between him and his lady, something he could cherish like so many other moments between them. Something like when he gave her the rose on top of the rooftop and kissed her on the cheek. He didn’t want those moments stolen and made into fantasies for other people, or chopped up into bits and pieces so that everybody could have a crumb. It was his moment, and he wanted to feast on it on his own.

Adrien shook his head and tried to focus again on the math problem in front of him. He had other things to worry about than his moment with Ladybug being made public.

With all the extra effort from akumas and sleepless nights studying for school, something had to give. If his grades dropped, his father had strongly hinted that Adrien would not be seeing his friends after school until his grades were perfect again. He wanted to steal some time away for Valentine’s Day, where he could hang out with his friends before going to get some of Andre’s ice cream. It would just be a day to rest and forget about everything. That would be hard to do while grounded.

He took in a deep breath, let it out, and erased all the effort he had put into the problem. Starting fresh would help.

~~~

Between classes, Adrien sat at his desk, staring at the chalkboard, trying not to nod off. The rest of the students were slowly trickling in. He contemplated just resting his head a little before Miss Bustier came in for class. He didn’t notice Kim standing in front of him until his hands slammed down on the desk, causing the young blonde to jolt. “Adrien, you have to help me.”

“I-uh... sure, Kim?” He said. Kim’s worried expression turned into a hopeful smile. He then opened up his bag and pulled out a necklace box. A very familiar necklace box, actually. “That’s…”

“Yep,” Kim said.

He looked up at Kim, who was looking at him expectantly. Adrien stared back blankly. “I’m flattered, Kim, but I already have one.”

“I knew you did!” he said excitedly, leaning down on the desk just as Nino came in and sat down. “I ordered it online. And luckily it came in before Valentine’s Day. But unluckily, they gave me the wrong one.” He opened up the box. White gold and pink sapphire. He had actually never seen the combination before. He was right - it looked so much better than the gold and ruby one.

“Dude!” Nino said, leaning in, taking the jewelry box from the other boy’s hand. “Are you kidding me? These things cost a fortune!”

“Only a small fortune,” Kim said, yanking the necklace box back. “Nothing a little work on the weekends can’t pay for. And anyway, Ondine is worth it.”

Adrien considered himself pretty knowledgeable, but the exact cost of jewelry was a little above his knowledge set. He just knew they cost ‘a lot’. He looked over to Nino, who put up 8 fingers, mouthing the word ‘hundred’ as he did so. Adrien had been learning about the average amount most teenagers could afford. And after an embarrassing afternoon where he tried to recommend his friends to his favorite restaurant only to find out they wouldn’t have even been able to afford the hors d’oeuvres, he was slowly learning the value of money to the average person. Twenty euros was too much for a high schooler’s lunch. For someone to pay 800 euros for a necklace? That was far too much.

And the akumatized victim just gave it to him? He must have really not wanted the reminder.

“I was hoping maybe you had the red and gold version?” he asked. “Ondine hates pink. I can’t give her this! And they said they wouldn’t be able to get me the one I want until after Valentine’s day. That’s just not cool! So I’m kind of stuck with this one. _Unless_ I just happen to know someone who did the commercial for it and might have the version they used in it?”

Adrien blinked. Nino laughed. “Kim, you don’t think they would give hundreds of euros worth of jewelry to a kid just because he starred in an ad, do you?”

“Well,” Adrien started. He reached in his bag. Kim gasped, looking so happy, he bounced in place. Nino stared at him in disbelief as Adrien pulled out the jewelry box from the akuma victim. 

“Dude,” Nino said, hands on his temples. “Why do you just have that on you?”

‘Because my dad would have questions if I just had it at home,’ he thought. Thinking on his feet, he said, “Uh, well, after that Ladybug/Chat Noir moment, the jewelry maker was so happy that I talked about it on my social media, that they sent me one. I just don’t know what else to do with it…”

“You could have given it to me,” Nino whispered, leaning in. “I could have given it to Alya.”

Kim opened the box, his eyes shimmering. “This is perfect! You’re the best, Adrien! I could kiss you.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay,” Adrien said, backing up in his seat. 

Nino donned a serious look on his face. “But he’ll come to you for a favor in the future.”

“That’s totally fine!” Kim said, missing Nino’s joking tone. “Thanks again!” He flounced up the stairs to his seat, talking excitedly to Max about his new necklace.

Adrien frowned to himself as he watched Kim. He hoped the necklace rejected by two women would finally find a home.

But that thought quickly left his mind as Marinette entered the room, taking her seat. She looked back to Kim. Marinette turned around to see Adrien smiling at her. She flushed slightly, waving as she smiled in return.

“Is that what I think it is?” Alya said, leaning over her desk to get a closer look at the necklace case. Adrien sighed inwardly. Why were people so obsessed with these things?

“Apparently,” Nino said conspiratorially, “Adrien gets hooked up with free stuff if he promotes their brands on his social media.”

“Not really,” he said, turning around. He opened the box to show the girls. They both oohed at the sight.

It really looked so much better than the other one. He could envision the look on Ladybug’s face as he gave it to her. If only she would accept it from him. But even though she joked about kissing him on the lips for this necklace, he knew she would think it was too much. He didn’t want to be another guy on the rejection pile with nothing but their necklaces to comfort them. “It was just a fluke. The ad became an international sensation because of Ladybug and Cat Noir. I just happened to address it on my social media.”

“Yeah, we saw that,” Alya said, looking over to Marinette, who stiffened in her seat. “Well, we can’t all live a life like you, international star.” He smiled to hide the inner cringe at such a title. “One day, you’re going to get too big for these small school walls. Just don’t forget us ‘little people’ when you do.”

“I’d never forget you guys, no matter what,” Adrien said, closing the box. “And I’m not a star. It’s just a meme. They die out pretty quick, anyway, right?”

Alya’s eyes lit up. Adrien didn’t know Alya that well, but he knew her well enough to see when she thought she had a scoop. And now she directed that look at him. The last time he could remember her looking at him that way was when Ladybug saved him from his akumatized bodyguard. She wanted to know everything that happened for her Ladyblog. But when he asked his father for permission, he shot it down immediately. It would hurt the Gabriel brand. And that was the end of that. “ _Saaay_ , since you weren’t actually in harm’s way for any of this, do you think your dad would let you do an interview about this for the blog?”

“Leave him alone, Alya,” Marinette whispered under her breath. His eyes darted to her, and she flushed at the sudden attention. 

“Yeah, he’d never say yes,” Nino agreed. 

“Not unless you try,” Alya said, folding her arms and leaning back in her seat.

“I’ll ask him,” Adrien said, “but I can’t promise anything.”

Alya considered that, deemed it a reasonable answer, and leaned against her desk. Her eyes narrowed in on the box. “Well, if you get those things for free, do you plan on doing anything with it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, looking at the box himself. “I feel like anyone I give it to will expect too much from me, all things considered.”

“Rose petals blowing on the ground?” Nino asked.

“Slow-motion seductive walk?” Alya said, overly emoting with her hands.

Marinette giggled softly. It was like music to his ears. “I think I’d buy red lipstick just for that moment.” She slipped from a dreamy look to a horrified one as she realized Adrien was watching her. He laughed at the joke. She laughed in return.

“You don’t have red lipstick on standby?” Adrien quipped.

Marinette gave a little shrug. “I prefer pink.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. He took in her outfit. The pink polka dots, the dark grey jacket, the pink jeans. “So do I,” he said, turning back to the necklace box. He picked it up, turned to Marinette, and opened it. “You should have it. It goes with your outfit.”

All at once, he realized he made a mistake. He couldn’t say what the mistake was, but he knew he had made it: by the gasp from Alya; by the shocked look on Nino’s face; by the few people in the room who saw what had transpired and gasped or squealed in some manner; by Chloe jumping up to her feet and screaming, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

But worst of all, by the look on Marinette’s face. She looked stunned. She had frozen in place, having backed away from the gesture. Her face was the only thing that changed, going from pink to bright red. Adrien shrunk down slightly. “I mean...,” he added lamely, “no lipstick required?”

The whispers started soon after that. He could hear a hushed, “Oh, my gosh,” and a shushing. There was a very audible squeal from Rose. Kim made an appreciative sound, like he was witnessing an auspicious event. Excited whispers mingled into it all.

“I…. it’s... I… I’m just… bathroom,” Marinette finally managed to say before springing to her feet and racing out the door. Adrien watched her race away, tempted to run after her, but not understanding what he did wrong.

Everything stood still for just a moment. 

Then a notebook smacked him on the head. “Are you crazy?” Alya hissed. Nino leapt to his feet and grabbed her arm as she was about to smack him again. “You don’t just give a gift like that on a whim to someone! And so close to Valentine’s Day?”

“What?” Adrien asked. “But... she likes pink.”

At this, Chloe laughed with satisfaction. “Oh, Adrikins, you give gifts like that to someone you intend to date. _Of course_ , Dupain-Chang is just an afterthought to you.” She leaned back in her chair triumphantly, scrolling through her phone.

Adrien felt his cheeks heat up, but he scowled all the same. “She’s not an afterthought,” he defended. He glanced around the room. The entire class had seen. Mylene cringed and looked away. Rose had her hands over her mouth like she had witnessed a tragedy. Kim was shaking his head at the botched attempt to give Marinette a gift.

Then another thwack to the head. That one actually hurt. Adrien turned back around to Alya. He had never been the subject of her anger before, but he could see why Nino tensed up when she was annoyed at something. He did, however, still try to shield Adrien from another bop to the head. “You need to go down there and apologize to her!”

“He didn’t know, babe,” Nino said in his defense. “He’s our baby chick, remember?”

Alya threw her hands in the air and turned to Nino. “ _How could he not know_ giving an expensive gift to a girl should mean something more than a way to re-gift a present?” Adrien cringed. The satisfied sound from Chloe made him feel even more ashamed. He really did just send a message that she was an afterthought. How did he mess this up so badly? He probably ruined their friendship, for all he knew.

“I’ll go talk to her,” he said, getting up from his seat. He put the necklace in his pocket and raced out of the room, knowing he had to make this right.


	2. Starter Boyfriend

Marinette sat on the closed toilet seat - hugging her legs close to her body, as she tried to still her fast-beating heart. Tikki was flying around her, asking question after question. “But I would have thought you would like Adrien to give you a present.”

“Yes, Tikki, but not like that,” she said. “Not in front of everyone. Not after everyone’s seen the sexiest commercial he’s ever been in with it. And certainly not because I like the color pink.”

“But...you do like the color pink,” Tikki said.

Marinette smacked her head on her knees. “Tikki, _everyone_ has seen those ads. Everyone was expecting us to become a thing. But we’re not! He just thought I’d like the way it looks. Which is fine - I’m happy he was thinking of me, but… now everyone saw him giving it to me. They all thought…” she let out a sigh. “And anyway, we may have been kidding, but I would have liked a rose petal or two. A confession of love, maybe. Then a house, three kids, a dog, a hamster...”

“You’ve played the commercial up too much in your head,” Tikki sighed. “It was a nice thing for him to do.”

“Was it, though?” Marinette asked with a small of a cringe. Suggesting that Adrien, her perfect Adrien, did something wrong was something she didn’t like to admit. “You don’t think that maybe he just wanted to get rid of it?”

“I thought you said it was expensive.”

“He’s rich,” Marinette dipped her voice into a whisper to say that. She didn’t like talking about other people’s money - even if they had it in droves. But she especially never liked to talk about it when it came to Adrien. It just highlighted the vast chasm they had to cross in order to be with each other. Not that either of them seemed to care about the money stuff. If he did, he would probably be a lot more like Chloe than anything. But it was there in anything to do with his life. It meant the Bodyguard was well paid to do his job keeping Adrien isolated. It meant his father had the fancy multi-layer security system to lock her out and lock him in. It meant Adrien had the world at his fingertips and could fly away on a whim, and she would never see him again. “He said he didn’t even pay for it, anyway.”

“You’ve hoped he would give one to you since you saw the commercial. Who cares about how it happens? I think you should accept the gift and then move on. Whatever happens with Adrien, happens. If the gift doesn’t mean as much to him as it does to you, at least you know he was thinking about you when you see it.”

Marinette let out a breath. Was it _really_ such a big deal? Sure, it embarrassed her. Just about everyone in the class knew how she felt about Adrien. Well, at least all the girls. And Nino. If she had just accepted it and moved on with her day, it would have been better. 

But, oh, the suddenness of it all was so jarring. One moment, she had _actually_ come up with something funny to say to contribute to the conversation that involved Adrien. The next, he was giving her this highly advertised symbol of love and sexiness. “It’s stupid. It’s silly. It’s stupid _and_ silly. I should just go back and act like nothing happened. And be super cool.”

Tikki tilted her head to one side, considering her statement. “Maybe not super cool. Last time that happened, you tried to kiss what you thought was a statue of Adrien.”

Marinette jolted up and glared at Tikki. “I thought we agreed we would never talk about that.”

The next few minutes were a blur as Marinette did breathing exercises to calm down, fixed herself in the mirror, and hyped herself up that it all meant nothing. Everything was fine, everything was cool. Super cool. But not too super. She tried to put the sexiness of the video she had watched so many times aside. And then, she had to stamp down the memory of acting out the scene with Chat Noir.

It was a sweet moment - one she was happy to share with him. That was until every single person in the world watched it, too. She still remembered his warmth as she hugged him, how she wished she had lipstick on when she pulled away from kissing his cheek. Over jewelry that she didn’t even like the color of. She should have just accepted the necklace and been done with it. But she didn’t want Chat Noir to get any ideas or think that the moment had any more meaning than it did. 

And now here she was, having to accept the fact that the moment she had with Adrien had no more meaning than it did. How did Chat Noir do it? Considering how much she meant to him, how did he put up with the rejection? Marinette felt a twinge of sadness (and something she couldn’t identify) when she thought about him in that context. She didn’t want to dwell on it too long. She didn’t enjoy mulling over any feelings that involved her partner for too long. But the memory of the hug lingered more and more in her head.

Marinette breathed out. ‘Just think of one boy at a time,’ she told herself. She straightened her jacket and walked out the bathroom door.

Then she froze.

There was Adrien, sitting on the bench near the girl’s bathroom. He stood up, shifting nervously. The two just looked at each other for a long moment. “Hi,” he said. 

“H-hi.” Marinette was all too aware of her hands clasped at her side, how her face once again heated up, how rigid her body felt. She needed to calm down around him. Needed to focus. “Er, I-uh-um…. hi.” _‘_ Good job,’ she thought. ‘Way to add to the conversation.’

He took a step forward, hands out apologetically. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you like that.”

Marinette tried to play it off. “Uh, upset? Me? Nah, that was just... surprising, that’s all. You know, the way friends surprise other friends... with... Valentine’s Day gifts in front of everyone…”

“It was a stupid thing to do,” he said, hanging his head low. “I get that, now.” He rubbed his head and winced. “I just thought we were playing around. And that the necklace would look good on you.”

Marinette blushed, putting her hands behind her back. “You, uh...you mean because of the pink?”

He shrugged, though looking apologetic all the same. “You look good in pink.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace box. Her heart thundered at the sight of it. “The truth is, I don’t even know what to do with this. I’ve never really given a gift for Valentine’s Day, and I always figured if I was going to go out of the way for the occasion, it would be for the girl I’m in love with.”

Marinette felt herself deflate. Of course, she knew he was in love with someone else. As far as her intel had gathered, things between him and Kagami had fizzled out a while ago. She had to wonder if this other girl was the reason for it. 

Then her eyes opened in astonishment. “Wait... why didn’t you give that to _that_ girl, then?”

He looked taken aback for a moment. Then he frowned. “She’s in love with someone else,” he said simply.

Marinette took a step back. “How could anyone choose someone else over you?” she asked. He looked up at her. She stammered as she took another step back. “Oh-I-uh... what I mean is, you’re such a good person and a great friend and…. so cute -- I mean, it’s so cute of you, that you... want to be handsome---er—HAVING a nice Valentine’s Day and saving it for... a girl you love.” She let out a breath at that sobering last statement.

He smiled softly, before looking down at the necklace box. “Well, it’s not Valentine’s Day yet. And I really do think the necklace suits you. I can’t imagine anyone who deserves it more than a friend like you.” Marinette’s smile quirked to the side. She wanted to profess her love. But at the risk of spewing romantic word-vomit to someone who was in love with someone else, she stamped down the desire.

She watched as he took the necklace out of the box, unclasping it. Holding both ends of the necklace open, he lifted it up. “May I?”

Marinette’s mind went blank. All she could do was nod. He walked behind her, and Marinette felt all her muscles tense up as he gently put the necklace in front of her. She dutifully moved her pigtails out of the way as he latched the necklace, then placed it down delicately on the nape of her neck. Her legs turned to jelly, and she fought with herself to keep upright.

He moved in front of her, looked at the necklace, and smiled. He gently adjusted it - his fingers grazing her skin as he did so. Was she in heaven? She felt like she was in heaven. And she had to remind herself to breathe. “I knew it would look great on you,” he said.

He looked up. Their eyes met. Adrien stilled for a moment. The two looked into each other’s eyes, and Marinette’s thoughts were complete mush. Then, impossibly, Adrien blushed.

Marinette tilted her head to the side. “What?” she asked.

Her question broke the spell. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh...you know, I was just wondering how it would look when your hair is down.”

Marinette’s smiled. She didn’t like just randomly putting her hair down since getting her pigtails even was sometimes a chore, but how could she say no when he looked at her that way. As if for a moment, he felt about her the way she felt about him. She pulled out one hairband, then the other, and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it. “Probably like this?” she asked.

She had never seen Adrien look quite so caught off guard. He looked stunned, flushed. After a moment, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a surprised huff. “It looks—you look... great.”

She smiled gently. But the curiosity was getting to her. She pulled out her phone and put on the front-facing camera. The necklace stopped just before her shirt, the white gold gleaming in the light streaming through the room, as the pink sapphires making up half of the heart shimmered. 

Suddenly, Adrien was in the front-facing camera view, too. Marinette could see herself blush in real-time. “Take a picture,” he said. He put an arm around her. Marinette looked to him in surprise. He. Was. So. Close. _How did this happen_? 

He looked over to her, confused. “Or not?”

“No, let’s!” She tried to calm her nerves and not look like a complete imbecile. She smiled her best smile. He leaned his head close to hers. And she took the picture.

They both admired it for a moment. Marinette could only see him, of course. “We should get back to class,” he said. He gave her a quick side hug, before releasing her from his grip. “Sorry again about everything. I hope you didn’t think you were an afterthought. You’re never an afterthought for me.”

Marinette looked at him, unsure what to say. After digesting the words, she shook her head and responded dreamily, “No, it’s fine.” He tried to wave her along with him, but she pointed to her hair. “I have to put it back up. You can go ahead.”

He nodded, before turning to the door. Then he paused. “Uh, just so you know, I’m kind of in the spotlight right now with the commercial and video going around. I don’t want you to get caught up in the media attention, either. So... if you want to post the picture, you might want to wait a few weeks? I know it’s a long time, but I’d hate for you to get pulled into things again. People would probably remember you from the whole theatre incident, and it won’t take much for rumors to spread that you’re my girlfriend and all, you know?”

Marinette stared at him for a moment. “Oh, no, that would be terrible!” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Er, the attention, not that last part.”

He shrugged. “I have to deal with that kind of attention. I don’t want you to have to as well. And besides,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have a few... very intense fans. I don’t want them knocking on your door anytime soon.”

Marinette nodded in understanding. “Oh, trust me, this picture is _not_ going to be seeing social media.” It was all hers.

He smiled. “Thanks for understanding.” He closed the door behind him. Marinette stared after him, unable to wipe the dreamy look from her face.

Tikki flew out from hiding and took a quick look over her features. “I guess you’re feeling better, now?”

Marinette let out a sigh. “That was so much better than the commercial.”

~~~

There wasn’t much left to the school day, thankfully. As Miss Bustier went over her lesson, Alya kept looking at Marinette’s neck, then eying Adrien when she caught her eye. Marinette shook her head - wasn’t what she thought. Alya grappled her hands at the sky, just begging to know the entire scoop. Marinette kicked her softly with her foot and gave her a look.

When class was over, Miss Bustier gave the class their assignment for the evening and dismissed them. Marinette tried not to make a big deal about anything as she got up, but she caught Adrien’s eye as he packed his bag. His attention drifted to the necklace before he smiled up at her again. He leaned in a little closer. “It really does look great on you,” he whispered, causing her to blush. As he pulled away, he waved. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Marinette waved as Nino looked back, then followed.

She let out a sigh of relief - her nerves were shot having to sit behind him like normal that entire time. But before she could put her backpack on her back and leave, her friends swarmed her. 

“Let me see, let me see, let me see,” Mylene said, grabbing Marinette’s hands and pulling her toward the other girls. Rose squealed. Mylene’s eyes widened as she gasped. Juleka leaned in closer, the corners of her mouth twitching - as though she were trying to be impressed, but she really didn’t find it that impressive. Alix even stopped for a moment to look.

“It’s okay,” she said with a shrug before walking off.

“Alix,” Mylene chided.

“I’m just saying, with the money people spend on that thing, you’d think it would do more than sit around your neck.” She ambled out of the classroom.

“That necklace is not worth the money it’s made of,” Chloe said from behind the group as she grabbed her bag. Sabrina craned her neck behind Chloe to have a look. “Don’t flatter yourself, Dupain-Chang. He didn’t even spend money on it. They gave it to him for free. And the only reason he had it was because Kim ordered the wrong one. But it’s nice to have such an expensive reminder of how you’re just an afterthought in Adrien’s mind,” she laughed as she walked out of the classroom.

“Green is not your color, Chloe,” Alya called after her.

“Now I get why he mentioned the afterthought thing,” Marinette murmured to herself.

“You have to tell us everything,” Rose said as she pulled her towards the door.

“Everyone head to Marinette’s,” Alya said, waving them along. “She can tell us the whole story. With snacks.”

Marinette fought against the current as the girls swept her along. “Wha--but I thought we were going downtown with Nino?”

“We have time, and I need to know everything _now_!” And just like that, she was washed away in a sea of happy chattering and excited squeals.

~~~

Marinette set down a fresh platter of cookies between the girls as they sat in her kitchen. “And then when I tried to get a look at it with my phone, he came around and had us take a picture together.” Marinette bit her lip as she showed the girls the picture. They all awed at the sight. Alya grabbed the phone and studied it closer.

“You look so nervous.”

“I WAS,” Marinette said, collapsing into a heap on the table. “But I was also really happy. I mean, he went out of his way to make sure I was okay and we talked and he was so nice to me.” She sighed. “I don’t deserve a moment like this.”

“Girl, you’ve earned it,” Alya said, “After every time you’ve tried to confess your love for him, don’t you think you deserve the boy of your dreams flirting with you and giving you an expensive gift?”

Marinette sighed and took her phone back. “It’s not the price of the gift that matters,” she said. She tried to ignore the comment about him flirting with her. Adrien was just being his normal kind self. “He wanted me to have it because he thought I’d like it. And if I had known he had spent money on it, there’s no way I could have accepted it. Especially when he said he was giving it to a friend.”

“Well, we’re happy for you, Marinette,” Rose said. “Even if it wasn’t a profession of love, this is something. Something big!”

“Something you have a memento of,” Mylene said. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I guess,” Juleka murmured.

“And I think Adrien has raised the bar for what gifts the guys in class should get their girls,” Alya said, smirking. “There’s no way I’m gonna let Nino live this down!”

Rose broke a cookie in half and handed the other half to Juleka. “Are you doing anything after ice cream with Nino on Valentine’s Day?”

“We’re keeping it basic,” she said, looking wistfully to the ceiling. “He’s coming over to play some video games since I’ll have to babysit my sisters until Nora comes home. They usually like to watch our dance game competitions. Anyways, after that, we’re going to get a small dinner, and maybe stroll along the Seine and just hang out.”

Rose let out a sigh. “That sounds so romantic.” Juleka looked at her and smiled as Rose got a dreamy look in her eye. Then Rose turned to Mylene. “And you and Ivan?”

“We’re going to try and beat the crowds to see a movie,” she said. “We still haven’t decided what to do for dinner, yet.”

Rose looked over to Juleka, giving the goth girl a questioning look. “You should hang out at my place,” Juleka offered. “There’s a lot of stuff going on around the Seine. And mom decorated it all hardcore. It looks cool.”

“Wouldn’t that be weird with Luka around?” Rose asked. Marinette tried not to flinch at the name. Sure, they were good friends now, but she would always feel a pang of guilt over breaking his heart. But he was a good guy. And Marinette’s heart didn’t know how to move on.

Rose looked over to Marinette. “Do you have any plans?” she asked. All eyes were on her. Marinette realized she had lost track of the conversation.

Alya laughed at the blank expression on Marinette’s face. “Gunna try again with a love letter?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Marinette said. But considering how things were going with akumatizations, she expected Hawk Moth to make an appearance and destroy everyone’s Valentine’s Day again. If anything, she would be spending it with Chat Noir, fighting evil. She mused about telling the girls she might have exciting plans with a blonde, but they would only think she meant Adrien. Marinette turned to the calendar on the wall and hmmed as she looked at the dates. “Well, it looks like it doesn’t fall on Chinese New Year dinner, so I should be relatively free. My relatives might be staying in Paris for the holiday, though, so my mom might make me go on a few outings with them.”

She turned around to four disappointed girls. “What? It’s just a necklace. It’s not like he’s going to suddenly realize he loves me and take me out on a date. I have to be…” she let out a sigh. “I have to be practical.”

“What if someone else asked you?” Rose said.

“Right,” Alya said. “I mean, you said yourself that he called you a friend. Many times. You’re not telling him you love him. And since Luka has a date that night, I’m guessing you two didn’t work out.” Marinette felt her stomach clench. Oh, so that was what she missed in the conversation.

“I mean, it’s the same problem I ran into before. I still have to figure out what I want with Adrien. How can I date someone and be in love with someone else?”

Everyone was quiet, looking to one another. Marinette tilted her head to the side. Alya was the first to talk. “Honestly,” she started, “You might want to try it. You barely gave Luka a chance. Why not explore what the world has to offer? You’re always so nervous around Adrien, how do you expect to be if you two finally get together? It might do you some good to date someone and just see what that’s like. Maybe it will take some of the mystery away from being with the boy of your dreams? Just because you date someone else doesn’t mean you won’t wind up with Adrien, eventually.”

Rose made a sad chirp. “But the necklace.”

“Which he gave to her as a friend,” Alya reminded her. “I love you, girl. And I love the naïve boy you’re pining for. But... I was really excited when I saw you coming in happily with the necklace. But it was just another case of our little chick missing the point. I don’t know. This is hard for me. I would love to see the two of you finally together. Sure, you might have other plans on Valentine’s Day because of family obligations, and that’s fine. But I’d hate for you to miss out on these life experiences because you’re too busy _hoping_ he sees the necklace for more than what he sees it as - something that pulls your outfit together.”

Marinette cringed, touching the necklace. 

“Harsh,” Juleka said.

“Yeah,” Mylene agreed. “That was a bit far, wasn’t it, Alya? No matter what the necklace meant to him, it was still a nice moment for her.”

“They would be so perfect together!” Rose objected.

“I think so, too!” Alya said. “But I mean it when I say...it might even be beneficial for you. You couldn’t sit next to Adrien on the long plane ride to New York. You couldn’t sit next to him for two minutes in class without having issues. Maybe being with someone else for a while will help you with Adrien. And who knows,” Alya said, looking slightly guilty as she took a cookie. “If he saw you in an _actual_ relationship with someone else, maybe he’d realize he feels a... certain way about it.” She crunched on her cookie.

The room was quiet for a moment. Then Juleka murmured, “You want her to use some other boy to make Adrien jealous?”

“That’s messed up,” Mylene said.

“Well, not _use_ him,” Alya said. “She should make it clear from the beginning she’s not looking for anything serious. But there has to be someone out there, anyone else, who could break Marinette out of her stuttering shell when she’s around the boy she loves. I don’t know, I’m just saying! Who knows what the future will bring, right?”

Juleka seemed displeased with Alya, but Rose considered this for a bit. Mylene shook her head and broke her cookie in half, dipping it into a glass of milk. “I would say that she should just tell him how he feels, but I know she can’t. I don’t agree with making him jealous, but I don’t think Alya is wrong on the other parts. You might need... uh... a starter boyfriend.”

Alya laughed. Marinette frowned. Rose and Juleka looked at one another. Mylene looked between everyone as they all thought about this idea. “You know, like a starter home: boyfriend edition.”

The others seemed to come to an unspoken agreement. There were lukewarm nods among the girls as they waited for Marinette’s opinion.

Marinette smiled gently. “I hardly think I’m going to be dating anyone soon. Don’t worry.” Marinette looked up at the clock. “Speaking of dates, I think we have one downtown?”

Alya looked at the clock. “Oh, I almost forgot. Come on, let’s go meet up with Nino.” 

Marinette was glad the talk was over. All that attention on her over a boy was getting tedious. She showed the girls out of the apartment, her parents handing them all a macaron before they left. Alya linked arms with Marinette while she shifted her thoughts to what she needed to buy to make her mother’s Lunar New Year outfit. She had already budgeted out how much she would allow herself to spend in case she found some fabric for any other projects. They waved goodbye to the others.

No one noticed the purple and white butterfly fluttering with a purpose above their heads.


	3. Love Connector

Nolan Boucher crumbled to the floor, the bouquet of roses falling to his side. The woman he had loved for so long shook her head. “You don’t always have to be so dramatic,” she said curtly. “I’m sorry, Nolan. But I told you a long time ago - I just want to be friends. And frankly, if you’re going to keep making me uncomfortable with your grand gestures, I’d rather not even be that.”

“Evelina,” he said, reaching out his hands to her, the roses rustling as he lifted them to her. “Please, just give me a chance.”

She shook her head, a look of disappointment and slight disgust splashing across her face, before turning. “Goodbye, Nolan. I wish you luck. Really, I do.” She turned her back to him. And then she walked away.

People were passing by, looking at the man denied love in the city that known for it. He had never felt more ashamed.

There were gasps around him. Some people screamed. One yelled, “Look out!” Before Nolan could shift his pain to action, an overwhelming feeling overtook him: an overwhelming feeling of power and revenge.

“Love Connector,” said a voice in his head. His attention snapped up at the sound. This voice would be his salvation. “I am Hawk Moth. You’ve given everything for the love of your life, only to have that love unrequited. She stomped on your heart and left you humiliated on the street. I can give you the power to be with the one you love forever. All I ask in return is that you get me the ladybug and black cat miraculous.”

“I’m happy to serve you, Hawk Moth.” The sounds of panicked people running away, screaming, were drowned out by the power that enveloped him and seeped into his soul.

~~~

Plagg’s laughter filled the room. Adrien knew that particular laugh too well. Far too well. Adrien tried to make himself as small as possible while he worked on his homework. But of course, that didn’t stop Plagg when he had a chance to roast Adrien. Payback, he would say, for all the times he dragged him away from cheese to become Chat Noir.

Plagg brought two pistachio shell halves and floated in front of Adrien’s face. Adrien sighed, looking up with a tired expression at Plagg as he hovered there, smirking. The small cat kwami made a big show of putting the two pistachio shell halves together, then opening it up like a jewelry case. “Open them, my darling!”

Adrien lightly tapped the Kwami on his head with his pen. “That’s it. No more TV for you.” Adrien got up and walked over to the television remote while Plagg chuckled beside him.

“You can’t blame me! I didn’t write it! I didn’t make you star in it! How was I supposed to know it would be this entertaining?” The cat stopped short as he looked at the TV. But Adrien had already grabbed the remote and turned it off.

“Uh, Adrien?” he said, pointing his tiny black paw at the television. “You might want to turn that back on.”

“You can find other ways to be entertained, Plagg,” Adrien said, his annoyance creeping up to his temples and threatening to cause a headache. He hoped Marinette didn’t think he was as cheesy as the commercial was when he gave her the necklace.

“Uh, no, I think we’re both going to be too busy to be entertained…”

Adrien stopped in his tracks and groaned. “Please, don’t tell me it’s another one?”

“Okay,” Plagg said uncertainly. “...how should I tell you, then?”

Adrien let out another groan of frustration before taking a deep breath. He had so much work to finish. Not the best time. Not the best time at all.

But at least he’d get to see his lady.

“Okay,” Adrien said, psyching himself up. Plagg turned the television back on as Adrien sat on the couch.

Nadja Chamack was sitting at her desk in the newsroom. “—who is not far from the Champs-Élysées, catching people in his magical bonds. We’re checking in with Clara Contard on the scene. Clara?”

“Yes, Nadja,” Clara started. “As you can see, my cameraman and I were hit not too long ago by one of these bonds,” she said, raising her hand. There was a bright glowing cuff around her wrist, a long glowing rope between the two. The cameraman extended his hand so they could see how far the rope allowed - maybe about two meters in length as far as he could tell. Enough to give some personal space, but not enough to have much privacy. “We’re still not sure what the reason for these bonds would be, but there seem to be some people nearby who have also been hit by these magical... handcuffs would be another way to describe it - who seems to be arguing. Perhaps it has something to do with teamwork? Luckily, my partner and I have long worked great together and we are doing fine.”

“Glad to hear it, Clara,” Nadja said. “Please continue to keep safe. Has there been any sighting of Ladybug or Chat Noir on the scene?”

“Not yet,” Clara said. “But we’re hoping to see them soon.” Behind her, a woman screamed at a man caught in the bond with her, and the man seemed very apologetic. Clara turned to see the argument going on. “Let’s get a closer look at what may be going on here.” She went to move before the camera jerked upward, and both the cameraman and the reporter yelped.

“Are you two alright, Clara?” Nadja asked.

“Yes,” she said. The camera focused back ahead of them. Clara held up the magical rope connecting them and nodded enthusiastically to the cameraman, before the two seamlessly made their way to the two people arguing. “Excuse me, sir, ma’am. Why do you think you were targeted by today’s villain?”

The woman stopped mid-sentence, before looking to the camera, wide-eyed. “Oh, don’t ask me. I had nothing to do with it. Ask HIM!” She pulled hard at the magical bound between them. The bonds looked like they were much duller than the ones on the reporter and her cameraman, like a fool’s gold, with almost no shimmer.

“I’m sorry!” he said as the woman walked away. “I didn’t want you to find out this way! Please, don’t walk off.”

“I can’t believe this!” the woman yelled.

“I don’t want to leave things like this!” he said, racing after her, though he had little choice.

Adrien looked to Plagg. “Well... Guess we’re needed today. Plagg, claws out!”

~~~

Marinette pursed her lips as she looked at a bolt of fabric. It was the color she wanted, but the wrong type of fabric. She wanted something that breathed. But it was tempting. The dark blue with a silver dragonfly pattern made the fabric look elegant. Maybe she could rework her design so she wouldn’t need to overheat while wearing it.

Alya tapped her shoulder. “I thought you were looking for something red?”

“Well, yeah,” Marinette said, hunching her shoulders. “But I saw this, and there is a dress design I sketched the other day, and this would be perfect for it. And sure, it wasn’t on my list of things to get, but look at it! It’s such a great design, and now I’m excited to start working on it, so it would be nice to leave here with maybe a bit more fabric than I planned…?” She smiled sheepishly. Alya gave her a look. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would take this long, but they have such a nice selection here.”

“Don’t worry, girl. That’s why we invited you! But... I mean, Nino’s getting restless, and there’s a cafe down the street. Nino wants to get us some hot chocolate. You could meet up once your done, and you don’t have to feel rushed.”

Marinette smiled. “You’re such a good friend, Alya. I owe you.”

“Oooh,” Alya said, smiling. “I don’t know if you’d like owing me a favor.” She laughed at the panicked look on Marinette’s face. “Just find us when you’re done.” Alya rubbed Marinette’s arm before meeting up with Nino and heading out the door.

With the pressure to hurry eased, Marinette went back to the fabric bolt and fell into another ten minutes of debating if the superior pattern was better than the breathable fabric that she had seen on another shelf. She even asked Tikki for her opinion, but the little kwami simply encouraged her to use her best judgment... which wasn’t what she asked. When she finally decided on the pattern over the fabric and purchased her items, she was already deep in thought, reworking the design in her head. She walked around the corner to the shop that Alya and Nino would to be in. 

Then it hit her.

She had completely forgotten to get the red fabric for her mom’s present.

Then it almost hit her.

A superhero, all in black, thrown right past her.

Chat Noir scrambled to his feet a few yards away. Marinette looked at him in surprise. He looked at her in surprise. Then he looked past her. “Look out!” he yelled.

Marinette turned her head to see a supervillain pointing a weapon at her. Dressed in armor that looked like a tuxedo, he held a rose in his hand. His skin was golden, and his pink lips split into a cocky smile. “Ah, of course! Why fight with you when I can just slow you down?”

Marinette meant to run. She meant to race away, transform, and help her partner in defeating this villain she had just come across. She meant to become Ladybug and do her thing, bravely taking down and capturing another akuma.

But Chat Noir reacted before she did. He grabbed her out of the way. 

Marinette held on tight to Chat Noir. Moving fast with no control over it was jarring in her delicate civilian form, no matter how many times it happened. She had just enough time to register that they were entering an alleyway. Then a stinging pain spread across her body. The two collapsed to the ground, rolling for a moment before coming to a stop.

The first thing she was aware of was her carefully chosen fabric strewn across the ground in front of her, the silver dragonfly embellishments shimmering in the sun. The next thing Marinette realized was that Chat Noir was on top of her, curled around her, still for a moment.

She had felt a stinging pain. Did he get most of the hit? Was he hurt? “Chat Noir!” she yelled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, heaving himself off of her with some effort. Having him on top of her was all too familiar when she was Ladybug. As Marinette, it felt more intimate somehow. “Are you okay? Did he hit you?”

“I’m fine,” she said. The pain was only momentary. “You should get back out there.”

“Of course,” he said, smiling down at her. “After I make sure you’re okay.”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. 

The sound of feet landing on the pavement drew their attention to the villain, smiling with satisfaction at the two.

Chat Noir jumped to his feet. “Run, Marinette!” he said, lifting his hands to fight. Marinette noticed at the same moment he did. The cuff on his right wrist. Both their eyes followed the long, magical connection down to the ground, then up and connecting to the cuff connected to her left wrist. Marinette’s stomach twisted.

Was she handcuffed? To Chat Noir? While untransformed? She was supposed to help in the fight, not become a hindrance. How, how, _how_ was she going to transform without revealing her identity?

She looked at Chat Noir, whose eyes were also wide. The villain laughed. “Wonderful to see - even superheroes have love problems.”

“What?” both Chat Noir and Marinette said at the same time.

“You’re bound by your feelings. I, the Love Connector, will keep you together until you can finally find the love in your hearts for one another!” Marinette and Chat Noir looked at each other, wide eyed, before looking back at the villain. “Yes, I can feel it - unrequited love. Normally, I would tell you to rejoice, for love is a splendid thing! But… given the situation… I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this revelry short by taking your miraculous. Then you two can talk it out to your heart’s content. Until you _finally_ realize your love for one another!”

Marinette jumped to her feet. Chat Noir brandished his baton. “While I’m sure that would be lovely,” he said, “now’s not really the best time for that. Why don’t you let me-owt of this chain so we can face each other fair and square?”

“Now’s not the best time?” asked the villain, eyes going maniacally wide. “THERE IS NEVER A BAD TIME FOR LOVE! But that’s what she always used to say! She would tell me it’s not the best time for a relationship. And if it wasn’t that, she didn’t feel about me the same way, or that she just needed a friend right now.” With that, he pulled a sword from his bouquet. “I’ll slice that ring off your finger just like she sliced my heart in two!”

Love Connector brought his sword down at Chat Noir, who parried with his baton. Marinette stepped back as far as she could, looking down to her bag at Tikki, not knowing what to do. She was trapped. Trapped because of unrequited love. How the villain knew she was Ladybug, and that Chat Noir was in love with her, she couldn’t know. He probably only felt something between the two of them. But Chat Noir didn’t know she was Ladybug. So how…?

They cut her thoughts short when Chat Noir leapt back from a slash of the enemy’s sword. She had to scramble out of his way. The superhero paid her a quick glance before blocking another blow. “Stay back!” he yelled. The sound of metal against metal clashed in her ears.

Marinette watched the blows Chat Noir was dodging, grabbing up the magical connection between them so it wouldn’t get in the way. Love Connector kicked Chat Noir in the chest, knocking the hero off balance. The villain smiled as he raised his sword, slashing it down towards the unprepared superhero. Marinette reached out her arms, holding the connection between her hands as she stepped in front of Chat Noir.

The sword created a dull noise as it hit the connection. And then, to her surprise, the sword bounced off. Marinette looked at it. She had hoped it would give way, even a little. But there wasn’t so much as a dent.

Chat Noir grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her behind him, elongating his baton and readying to defend her.

Instead, Love Connector laughed. “You thought it would be that easy?” he asked. He twirled his sword with a flourish before re-holstering it in his bouquet. “These bonds are magical! Completely unbreakable by outside means. The only way to break them is by your love for one another!”

“But we’re not —,“ Chat Noir began.

“It’s not what you think,” Marinette said.

“She’s just a girl I’ve rescued a few times.”

“It’s totally a misunderstanding.”

“We barely even know each other!”

“That’s true! We really don’t!”

“She just had a little crush on me.”

Marinette went to say something else before she squawked in surprise. “What!? That’s not — !” She sputtered for a moment before she pulled on the chain between them, spinning him halfway towards her. “WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?”

“W… Well,” he said apologetically, lifting the chain.

The villain stepped forward. “You act as though this is something to be ashamed of. Of course, if you want me to leave you alone, all you have to do is give me your miraculous. Otherwise, we can test how difficult it would be to save a normal girl tied to a superhero.”

Chat Noir grabbed Marinette around the waist again and extended his baton, launching the two up into the air. She imagined they would land on the rooftop with ease. Instead, they jolted forward as the stick was kicked out from under them. They tumbled down, flailing, onto the rooftop. Not a problem, usually, when she was Ladybug. But now she was simply Marinette - with no superheroine powers to keep her safe from suddenly being thrown to the floor.

The two crumpled on the top of the roof. Marinette cried out in pain, rolling on her back and holding her arm. “Marinette!” Chat Noir shuffled quickly to her side, hands above her as though he wanted to touch her but didn’t want to make it worse. “Is it broken?”

“I think I just sprained it,” she said. She’d never broken a bone before, but her dad described passing out from the pain when he broke his leg as a kid. There was no way for her to know if that was standard for all breaks, but it was good enough for her right then. She tried to move it but hissed in pain. Chat Noir looked guilty but seemed reluctant to touch her. What could he do for an injured arm, anyway?

“Ladybug will fix it,” he said, closing his fist in resignation. “When we’re done here.” He looked off, searching the skyline. “Where is she?”

Her body ached from the fall, willing her to stay down and let someone else take care of things. But hearing Chat Noir asking for her pulled at the Ladybug in her. He needed her, injury be damned. She struggled to rise to her feet, not wanting to let go of her injured arm. Chat Noir helped her up, looking her over with concern.

Movement caught both their attention as the villain jumped up onto the rooftops. Marinette had never felt more like dead weight than she did right then, as Chat Noir felt obligated to protect her rather than attack. Because of the stupid bond. “Let’s try this again. You give me your miraculous, and--”

Chat Noir bent down and extended his baton, hitting Love Connector right in the chin, and knocking him off the side of the building. Without saying a word, Chat Noir spun around, grabbed Marinette, and raced off before the bad guy could come back.

~~~

Landing on the streets, Chat Noir ducked into a store, placing Marinette down. Looking down at her arm, he asked a gentle, “Can I see it?”

Marinette was unconsciously holding her right wrist - maybe she looked more in pain than she actually was. She lifted it to him; he looked it over with a tenderness she didn’t know he could have. “I’m fine, really,” she said. “We should spend more time figuring out how to get this undone so I won’t get in your way.” She waved her left arm to emphasize the bond that was holding them.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said. It was only then that Marinette and Chat Noir noticed the people hiding behind the counter of the coffee shop. The very one she had been looking for before she found herself in the middle of a villain fight. Alya looked between Marinette and Chat Noir with eyes wide with worry and something else. Intrigue, most likely.

“Alya!” Marinette squeaked. Chat Noir’s composure changed when he realized there were others in the room - standing up straighter, face more even-toned, a slight smirk washing onto his features. Funny, she didn’t take him for being shy. If she had to guess, he didn’t want his worry to make the civilians nervous.

“What happened?” she asked. “How did you—are you guys chained together?” she squeaked. She pulled Nino out from behind the counter as other faces slowly emerged to see what was going on.

“Uhhhh, yeah,” Marinette said nervously, wondering how much other people knew about why the supervillain was bonding people together. And… no. _Oooh, no_ \- what if Chat Noir blames it on her again? In front of other people? And who wouldn’t believe that? Everyone on the Ladyblog thought he and Ladybug were a couple or should be one. There was even an entire blog dedicated to the two getting together: the LadyNoir blog. All that was ever posted was speculation about how much the two loved each other secretly, using out of context photos and over-analyzing every interaction between them. Even Nadja Chamack had done an entire special on their supposed love for one another - an idea she believed so whole-heartedly, she became akumatized for it. The damage was done. She was going to look like a love-sick fangirl idolizing Paris’ most good-looking (as per the votes on a poll on the Ladyblog) superhero.

“It’s not what it looks like,” she said, already feeling defeated.

“We just have to figure out how to undo this,” Chat Noir said. “And then I can leave her somewhere safe.”

“You’re injured,” Alya said, the scandalized look on her face gone and replaced with concern. She raced over to her and looked at her arm. “What happened?”

“There’s a villain,” Marinette said lamely.

“It’s my fault,” Chat Noir said. “He went after me.”

“I got in the way!” Marinette said, holding up her arm.

“Well,” he said quickly, “You’re not in the way, necessarily! You did more than expected! I should have been protecting you.”

“And I shouldn’t have been weighing you down,” Marinette corrected. “Really, it’s okay, I’m not a superhero, I shouldn’t be in the middle of a fight like that.”

“True,” he said, cocking his head to the side, his cat ears flopping over slightly. “But you did figure out that it will take more than force to undo the bond. That narrows things down. I don’t know if I want to risk using my power to try and break it if it doesn’t work. That might make more problems.” She couldn’t even imagine how awkward it would be with a detransformed Chat Noir, feeding his kwami, both of them trying not to talk about the elephant in the room.

Alya looked at Marinette’s arm. She winced in pain. Nino came up with a scarf he had been wearing. “Maybe a sling would help?” He tipped his hat and smiled proudly. “I was a scout. I think I can help a little.”

Marinette let Nino try to work out a sling, while Alya pulled out her phone. “One of the reporters got chained like this, too. To her cameraman. But now they’re freed. I missed the part where they said how.” She pulled up the live news feed. Clara was explaining the ongoing collection of stories about the pairs still tied together.

Alya turned up the sound, “—who say that they will not be giving them a chance, and now they’re simply stuck together. I’ve had to intervene a few times with pairs amid a massive fight. Any relationship they were hoping to salvage after this is gone. He may not be physically hurting people, but he certainly is hurting many relationships.”

Marinette looked over to Chat Noir, who paled. “But,” he asked, “How do we fix it?” They listened for a bit while she talked more about the effects she had seen, and even a video of the villain jumping off into the distance, calling for someone named Evelina.

Chat Noir sighed, “We don’t have time for this.” He opened up his cat phone. Marinette looked to Alya, who raised her eyebrows. Nino finished up a make-shift sling, and presented Marinette’s arm to her with pride. He then sat in a nearby chair and sipped his hot chocolate. People stood near the edges of the coffee shop, wondering how safe it was to come out. “Hello! This is Chat Noir... yes, really... Well, do you know anyone else who sounds as charming as I do on a phone?... Purrfect. I just wanted to-… No, I’m sort of in the middle of tracking down a supervillain right now. I just wanted to know how Clara got out of the bonds with her cameraman? ... Ah, how I’d love to be tied together with my lady,” he did a little swoon. Marinette tried to hide her smirk. “But she’s not here right now.”

She must have given Chat Noir a look because he smiled and winked at her. Marinette looked to Alya to exchange a ‘did you see that?’ look with her, but she was too busy beaming from ear to ear to notice. She had already grabbed Nino’s phone to record the phone call with it. Seeing the girl holding two phones - one for watching to news and one for filming the news - left Marinette both impressed and just a little concerned for her. It was a tad much, in her opinion. She also had to make a mental note to remember to ask Alya not to post anything with her face in it.

Chat Noir covered the speaker of the phone and leaned over to Marinette. “I don’t know why they sound disappointed Ladybug’s not here. I mean, I’m always a little disappointed when she’s not around, but—Yes, I’m still here,” he said, straightening up and speaking louder. Marinette choked down a laugh. Silly kitty. “... If you must, but could you please do this quickly. Thank you!” He glanced outside, eyes scanning the sky. Looking for Ladybug. Only Marinette knew she wouldn’t be showing up.

The reporter on screen suddenly went quiet before saying, “I’ve just received news that Chat Noir is on the line with us.” Marinette made a frustrated motion with her working hand. Was he really going to go on live TV to ask what she said? She tried to ignore how helpless she felt - she certainly would have done it differently. But she had to let him do his thing. She trusted Chat Noir for a reason. And she couldn’t exactly tell him to do things differently as Marinette. Well, not the way she’d like, at least.

“Hello, Clara! It’s a pleasure to be here with you,” he said in a chipper voice, moving with more boisterous motions than he had been just a moment ago. It was like he was trying to keep his energy up to make himself sound fine.

“It’s a pleasure to be speaking with you! We haven’t seen you out in the field yet - are you and Ladybug on the way?”

Chat Noir grimaced before answering. “I’ve already been in the field, but I’ve hit a slight snag. I have to a-paw-logize, but I just needed to ask you something quickly. You were among the first hit by the villain with his power - chained to your cameraman, is my understanding. But, I missed the part where you escaped.”

There was a slight delay to what Clara heard through her earpiece, while she nodded along before her eyes brightened and she smiled. “Am I to take this to mean that you and Ladybug have been caught by the Love Connector with your own bond.”

“She’s not here at the moment,” he clarified. “But it’s imperative I know. Especially for any other citizens who may not have been lucky enough to have heard your earlier broadcast. And I don’t mean to rush you, but I’m just a tad in a hurry.”

“Well,” Clara said, as though she were debating with herself on if she should ask or not. The desire to help seemed to win. “From what we can tell from interviews, the villain seems to be targeting couples who have some sort of love problem - miscommunications, secrets, unrequited loves. My cameraman has long had a crush on me. Once we found out that the Love Connector was trying to... well, make love connections, we talked for a bit, and I agreed to go out on a date with him.” She looked a little past the camera and smiled. There was a slight blush on her face.

Marinette frowned. They had already been on a date. Sure, her parents were there, too, but it was still a date. She looked to Chat Noir, who also seemed unimpressed. “Wonderful, thank you, Clara. But I have to ask...is that all?”

Clara, after the audio caught up, startled a little, then blushed. She looked to her cameraman, then into the camera. “Oh, I know you have to hurry. I don’t want to keep you tied up with the details.”

This peaked Chat Noir’s interest. “No problem, Clara. Now… you’ve been in the field, watching others. Is there anything you’ve seen that might help someone else out of this? You know, for those who might not have had much of a relationship starting out like you two did.”

Offering her an out. Marinette smiled with appreciation at her partner. Always so considerate.

“I have seen a few people out here who have managed to work out their differences and seal it with a kiss,” she said, trying to look breezy about the suggestion.

Marinette’s eyes went wide.

Chat Noir’s eyes went wide.

He turned away from the broadcast, away from everyone else in the room, and wandered off as far as the bond would allow.

Every eye was on Marinette, or she was sure they were. She couldn’t actually see if they were or not, as she had found the most interesting spot on the floor she had ever seen.

“That was very informative!” Chat Noir said, his voice sounding a little too high. “Thank you. Keep doing that outstanding job. And if you see me out there, try to get my good side. Ah, who am I kitten? It’s all my good side. Cat Noir out.” He hung up. And spun around, hands up.

“Okay,” Marinette said, “So…”

“That was…”

“I don’t think…”

“I don’t, either,” he said.

“You know, she said some people,” Marinette said. “Maybe it depends on how big of a relationship they have.”

“And we don’t have much of one…,” Chat Noir said, though he sounded unsure.

“Right…” she said herself. While he was certainly thinking about the lunch they had with her parents, she was thinking of how she was very much Ladybug, and how she very much worked with him at least once a week, in very intense situations.

“So, wait a minute!” Alya said, the intrigue once again on her face, her own phone with the live broadcast put away, using Nino’s phone to keep filming. “There’s something going on here. Now, I know my girl, Marinette, but I thought I knew something about you, Chat Noir. But this doesn’t make any sense. You got a crush on Marinette?”

Chat practically leaped backward, “No, no, no, that’s not the case at all!” he rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe... well, everyone who knows her, loves her in some way?”

Marinette snorted. But Alya continued, “because I know my girl has been in love with the same guy for a long time.”

“ALYA!” Marinette yelled, stamping her foot. So many cameras all around, now. She did not know when every single person started filming her. But it was well past simply asking Alya not to post it on her blog for this not to get out.

“And that boy is certainly not you!” She moved forward on Chat Noir, coming up to him, the camera close on his face. His eyes flickered to Marinette. “No, no. Unrequited love? This has to be on you.”

Marinette took pity on Chat Noir. “No, Alya,” she said. She went to pull Alya back, winced, remembering her wrist, then pulled her back with her right hand. “You know, it’s probably me. Doesn’t everyone have a little bit of a crush on Chat Noir? He saves Paris constantly. It probably wouldn’t have taken much to get him bound up with anyone, really.”

Alya turned to give her an appraising look. “What?” Marinette asked. “It’s not like its love. And it’s a supervillain. Of course he’s going to take the chance to get an advantage over a superhero. Maybe he did the same with Ladybug to some random guy, and she can’t fight now, either. You know everyone loves her.”

Alya considered this before nodding. “Okay. Give each other a kiss so he can get out of here.”

“WHAT?” they both asked at the same time.

“Ugh,” Alya said, slumping down. “If that’s the key, then get to it.” She lifted her camera.

“ALYA!” Marinette nearly screeched.

“You know,” Nino said, finally putting in a word, “She said they needed to talk, first. Maybe give them some time together to talk it out.” He took another sip of his hot chocolate. “In private?”

Alya smiled and lowered her camera. “Yeah. You do that. But you better tell me everything later.”

“You have to not post that video anywhere,” Marinette said, glaring at the other girl.

“You have to give me an interview later.”

“... maybe.” She did owe her a favor.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Chat Noir said cautiously. “But we need to hurry.”

“Right,” Marinette gave one last look at a knowing Alya before they stepped outside. The two gave each other an appraising look. Chat Noir extended his arms. Marinette moved in close, allowing him to pick her up. They were silent as he leapt up to a rooftop. Marinette tried not to focus on how nice it felt to be held by her partner. Especially when she felt like she was about to have to bare her soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wrote basically the entire story already - it needs major editing and I'm hoping to cut it down to my originally planned 14 chapters I originally planned for, but... the rough draft is more than that, so that might change. (Some people might try and say longer is better, but you don't understand. The middle was draaaagging when I wrote it because I wasn't sure how I wanted to get from point A to point B. I don't look forward to editing that...) I REALLY wanted to have it completely uploaded by Valentine's Day, but editing takes forever, so we'll see. I read it until my brain bleeds, so your brain won't bleed while reading it! But yeah, I hope you guys are enjoying it so far.
> 
> I write this to say, have you ever read back something you've written and found yourself laughing at something you didn't intend to be funny when you wrote it? Yeah. When I reread Nino sipping hot chocolate, I thought it had baby Yoda energy.


	4. Now Kiss

Jumping through the air and falling was thrilling when Marinette was in control of things - her powers granted her the freedom few humans would ever get to experience. When Chat Noir was in control, and she was Ladybug, she felt protected and cared for, her partner keeping her safe. But as her civilian self, holding on with her good hand, while hopelessly tethered to the hero, all while flying through the air with no feeling of control - well, that was another thing entirely. She squeaked in surprise as the feeling of falling hit her once again. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I got ya.”

She wanted to say, ‘I know,’ but instead gasped in shock as they were once again propelled in the air. She held on tighter with her good arm. Her head against his chest, eyes closed tight, she seemed nothing like her superhero self. Sure, she trusted her partner wholeheartedly. She knew he only wished to take care of her. But the vulnerability of it all… If he ever found out who she was, she imagined he would tease her about this moment for years to come. She already practiced what she would say. “My arm was injured, and we were tethered together. Was I supposed to feel  _ safe _ ?”

Marinette was grateful when Chat Noir finally found an acceptable vacant rooftop to land on. They were on top of a fairly tall building with a door to access the inside. Marinette didn’t think she had ever been on this rooftop before. He set her down gently, waiting for her to get her proper bearings before letting go. The difference between being held against his warm body while flying through the air and suddenly being without it on a cold rooftop made her shiver. These were things she didn’t notice or need in her super suit. Now she just wished she could curl up against him for more warmth.

But that would make things even more awkward.

He walked them over to the building access area and opened the door, putting up a finger before going ahead. She waited while the cold whipped around her as the tether threatened to drag her along with him. He came back out and held open the door, directing her to go in first. Marinette gave him a curious look but entered either way. Walking down the small staircase granting roof access, Chat Noir opened the door to the top floor. The room was dark and looked like a storage area for leftover office equipment. Seemed a waste of space, considering the wall of windows that lit up the room, overlooking Paris. If it weren’t for the desks and chairs haphazardly placed throughout the vacant area, the place would have been lovely. She sat cross-legged on the floor, looking out the window. “Do you come here often?”

“To the roof,” he said, joining her on the floor. “I try to find the places that don’t lock their roof access in case I need to duck in. I figured a good view would help me keep an eye on things.”

“Good plan,” Marinette muttered. She looked at the cuff on her wrist, the line between them, before looking back at him. He adjusted the cuff around his own wrist, before looking to her in return. They both took a deep breath and sighed.

They both looked to each other, the weight of the situation threatening to suffocate them. “So…” he said.

“Sooo…” she said in return. They both looked to the side. Then they both went to say something at the same time. They both gestured for the other to go first. Then they both laughed nervously. “This is silly,” she said, fiddling with the sling. “We’re both capable of handling this maturely. We just… need to get started. And quickly.”

“Agreed, I’ll start,” he said. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking up to the ceiling. “I… know I hurt you last time.”

“Oh, no, no,” she blurted out, knowing that would be the first thing he would bring up. “It’s fine, it’s forgiven, I am over it. I am over you!” She said that part with perhaps a little too much emphasis.

He smiled sadly. “That’s good. But…” he lifted his right hand with the wrist cuff. It didn’t seem to shimmer as brightly as it did outside. She had expected the shine of it to light up the room.

Part of her wanted to call him out for being in love with her Ladybug side. Part of her considered outing herself if it meant not being thought of as some love-sick puppy just hoping for Chat Noir to notice her. Was she supposed to play the part of a jilted fangirl who had pictures of Chat Noir posted all over her room? She already played that part willingly for Adrien, and that was exhausting enough.

“I - I don’t know what this is about,” she said a little too defensively. She never realized how much she gesticulated with her hand until she couldn’t use it. She tried not to wince as it lay in the sling, but he watched her try to relax it, concern tracing his features. “Maybe he picked up on past feelings. But honestly, really, there are no feelings of unrequited love here.”

“Hmm, maybe,” he said, crossing his arms and looking to the sky. “But we should talk about it if it means getting free.” Marinette wasn’t sure what to say. Perhaps that read on her features. “It’s okay, I can start! ‘Everyone has a crush on Chat Noir?’” He smiled a cheeky smile.

Mariette blushed. She pursed her lips slightly as he gave her a knowing look. She took a deep breath. This was for the greater good. They would get loose, Chat Noir would take off, she would transform, and after they took care of everything, they could go on with their lives. She had to be as honest with him as possible without bringing Ladybug into the equation. She inwardly groaned that she would be feeding into that ego of his. “Well,” she started, trying to look demure. “You’re handsome and strong and you try to help people. And you’re funny. Sometimes.”

He had a smile like a cat that caught the canary. Perhaps he was going to gloat. But the bond between them glowed a little brighter. Both stared at the bond, then back to each other. It seemed they stumbled onto something.

They scooted a little closer. 

“If complimenting you is the way to get out of this, then this will be easy,” he said with a grin. “I happen to think you’re very beautiful.”

Marinette felt a small blush come across her cheeks. “You’re kidding.” He shook his head. “Oh. W-well, thank you!” He smiled, proud for having done a good deed. She reminded herself not to be too flattered, though. If he fell for Ladybug, surely he could see some of that in her.

“You’re also very loved,” he added. “I… may not know you well enough, but I can see it. You’re very lucky.”

Marinette smiled gently. “Thank you.”

“I really liked the album art you did for Jagged Stone.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “You know about that?” 

“He raves about you whenever he talks about you,” he said. He crossed his arms. “If he’s happy about something, he’ll gush about it over and over again. He also showed me the glasses you designed him numerous times.”

Marinette looked away, blushing now from embarrassment. “Yeah, he really loves those.”

“You’re good at design,” he continued. “And… even though I was turned into a puppet because of it, I still think the doll you made of me is really cute.”

“Ah, yeah, sorry about that,” she said. “Superheroes and villains are very inspiring. I had to try my hand at the dolls.”

He crossed his arms in front of him. “Good to know I inspire you.” He had a cheeky look on his face. 

“There was a Ladybug doll, too,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “And a few villains. Don’t get too cocky.”

He leaned in close, choosing to ignore that comment. “How else do I inspire you?” There was a twinkle in his eye. He probably never got to ask any other supposed citizen questions like this in such an intimate setting. At least she hoped not. In fact, the idea of Chat Noir trying to charm any other person made her stomach clench. She tried to ignore that unpleasant feeling.

She wanted to match his cockiness with her own witty remark, but she paused. That would be too Ladybug. He knew her too well to risk that. So instead, she thought for a moment. And answered honestly. “You inspire me to be a better person.”

He leaned back, surprised by the answer. His cocky smile was replaced with a genuine one. “You don’t need me to teach you how to be a better person,  _ Marinetta _ ,” he said, taking joy in saying her name that way. “Your friends all believe in you enough to defend you from a villain.”

“Well, it  _ was  _ my birthday that day,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “And they’re amazing friends.”

Chat Noir put his clawed hand on her shoulder. Marinette looked up into his green eyes, which looked at her with that earnest intensity he always had when trying to cheer her up. As Ladybug, that is. “Don’t sell yourself short. Your friends love you because you’re a great person - kind and dependable and always there for them. Plus, you’re smart and pretty funny, kind and helpful, fun to be around and--”

“Is this what my friends think of me or what you think of me?” she asked, the corner of her lips quirking upwards.

He folded his arms in front of him as though offended. “I can’t include myself as a friend?”

“You can,” she said, leaning back. It was odd, having to speak to him on a normal level, without the immediate threat looming over them, without her being Ladybug. Something was different about the way they interacted. And given the occasional head tilts and eyebrow quirks, she had to wonder what he was thinking about the whole affair. Maybe he found it weird, too. As Ladybug, she rarely got to sit down with any civilian for long periods of time just to talk. The longest she could think was with Alya, and that was for an interview. If she really thought about it, there was a lot to being a superhero that was so incredibly lonely.

She realized she was staring at him and looked away quickly. Her eyes fell instead on the bond, which was glowing brighter than it had been last time. She looked up hopefully to Chat Noir, who smiled.

They scooted closer.

“Chat Noir,” she said with a seriousness that caught him off guard. “We need to hurry this up and if I have to worry about you asking me why I’m saying certain things, it’s going to be hard to do this. Would you agree to just... let it go... if I say some things that may sound odd?”

He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes a little. Then he looked up, as though thinking about something. Then he nodded. “Only if you agree to the same for me.”

She furrowed her brows. Surely, he didn’t mean it in the same way she did. But they had little time, and she didn’t like the idea of Love Connector being free to permanently break up relationships because he forced people to talk about their feelings before they were ready. If she had to do that with Adrien, it would be her worst nightmare. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll start. You’re always there for me when I need you, and I know I can trust you.”

Cat Noir tilted his head to the side, gave a small shrug. “It’s my job.”

“Yes,” she said, “but I mean for me in particular.” He frowned and opened his mouth, ready to ask questions, but she put up her good hand. “Uh-uh-uh. You just have to accept it. It means a lot to me.”

He closed his mouth, fought the urge to ask, then finally smiled. “I’m glad I can talk to you when I feel lost.”

Marinette raised her eyebrows. Surely he meant when she talked to him on her balcony, when the superhero version of her stood him up. Wow, her life was complicated... “I’m happy to be there for you,” she said with a smile. She bit her lip. This next one would be hard to explain. “You comfort me when I’m feeling down.”

He squinted at her, perhaps trying to remember any time he had done so. Then he seemed to come to some conclusion - perhaps thinking about the same night - and nodded. “I think it’s kind of cute when you get flustered.”

“What?” She said, blushing. “I do NOT get flustered that much... Do I?” she asked, going from feeling offended to deflated. He chuckled -  _ actually chuckled  _ \- at her reaction. She blushed and laughed as well. “I didn’t think I did it that often that  _ Chat Noir _ noticed,” she said, flailing her good hand at him.

He gingerly took her hand. “It’s hard  _ not  _ to notice you,” he said and gave her hand a gentle kiss. His eyes looked up to her, and she could tell that he was smiling despite her hand blocking the view.

Marinette felt her face heat up. Butterflies in her stomach. Something was happening. Something that she didn’t intend. She wondered if the bond had some sort of magical element to it - to amplify their feelings. Or maybe that was just what a moment like this was supposed to feel like. “I…” she managed, taking her hand back. “I’m feeling a little light-headed…”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

They should have leaned into the feelings, leaned into their conversation. Instead, they both leaned away. She couldn’t understand why things felt so intense. There was a thought there, tapping at the back of her mind, wanting to be heard. One that was not unfamiliar to her. But she kept it in its place and refused to listen to it. Marinette closed her eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she realized Chat Noir was staring at her necklace.

Marinette jolted upwards, putting her hand over the pink sapphire heart. “It’s nothing,” she explained, not knowing why she felt the need to find an excuse for it. They had spent so much time fighting akuma’s because of those commercials. Maybe she felt like it was a betrayal to have one near the one other person who could find them just as annoying. Yeah, that must have been it. “A friend gave it to me. He’s into fashion. This just looks good on me. Or so he thought.”

Chat Noir looked a little taken aback by the comment. “Or so he thought?” he asked. “You don’t agree?”

“Well, I mean,” she said, fighting the urge to remove the necklace and chuck it across the room to avoid any conversation involving Adrien. “It’s lovely. The color is beautiful.” She almost felt like she betrayed Adrien by not raving about it. “There’s just a lot of... implications with the necklace.” She traced her finger around the heart. “I mean... he’s a friend. A, uh... great friend. But other people don’t see a necklace like this and come to the same conclusion. You know?” She looked up at Chat Noir, who had an odd look on his face. Why was she talking about this with him? “What I mean to say is--”

“You don’t like it,” he finished, looking sad.

“No, I do!” she said, leaning in so intensely to make the statement that he had to lean away. “But, you know, Valentine’s day is coming up, and people are being told over and over again that gifts like these mean love, and it’s just like you’re being beat over the head with it when it might not be the case for some people, and I feel a little guilty wearing it when that’s clearly not what he meant by giving it to me, and at the end of the day, I probably won’t be spending Valentine’s Day with anyone or with him, for that matter, so it’s not like it means anything other than matching my outfit, so I don’t want people to constantly bring it up when they see it and make me feel pressured to have a date for Valentine’s Day or anything like that when it’s just a gift from a friend, and it will always just be a gift from a friend!” Marinette sucked in a much-needed breath. She had at some point started yelling. She had just regurgitated her feelings all over the place, and felt like a mess.

By the look on Chat Noir’s face, it was completely unexpected and jarring. He actually had his arm up defensively while leaning away, like she was going to attack him with more words at any moment. Marinette felt her face get bright red. “I am  _ so  _ sorry,” she said, wishing she could run away. She pulled helplessly at the bond, only to notice it was swirling, almost crackling, with the intensity of what she had just said. Marinette gasped. “Did I ruin it? Did I break it in a way that doesn’t release us? Did I just ruin everything? You probably think I’m crazy now and never want to talk to me again.” She hid her face in her hand.

“N-no, I think it’s okay,” Chat Noir said, taking the tether away from her and putting it back down. “I think you just had a lot of feelings you needed to get out. And you only sounded  _ a little _ crazy.” Marinette crossed her arms and looked away. God, she had really messed this up. How were they supposed to get out of this now that she had just thrown an Adrien-filled anxiety bomb into the mix? “Hey, it’s really okay,” he said. She didn’t dare to look at him. “It sounds like you have a lot of feelings about the necklace. And Valentine’s Day? Don’t you have boys knocking down your door to take you out? I don’t know about you, but I recall an akumatized villain willing to give up his revenge on a girl just to go on a date with you.”

“Well, it was his birthday,” she said lamely. Great. Now she seemed like a scorned teenager who just wanted a date. But she couldn’t trust herself to talk honestly about Adrien. She proceeded with caution. “There was a boy,” she started. “He probably would have taken me out somewhere, but I had to give up on him a while ago. I was just hurting him. Either way, he has a date now and I’m glad he’s moving on. It’s not like I wanted to do anything for the day, anyway. There might be some family stuff going on for the Spring Festival, so I’ll probably be busy, anyway.” He tilted his head curiously to the side, but let her continue. “But my friends all have plans, and it just sounded nice. I don’t want to go into anything half-planned.” She thought for a minute, biting her lip, wondering if she should say the next part. “I have a lot to think about, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to just date. I want to be wholly in love. And if I go out with a guy that I’m only half committed to, I could hurt him. I just have some hang-ups about someone who doesn’t see me the same way. It’s... hard getting over someone you love. It’s not worth it just for a date on one day.”

“You’re heartbroken,” he breathed.

“No,” she said quickly. “I’m getting past that. Just trying to figure out what to do next. And everyone seems to think they have the right idea for me. I’m starting to think I don’t even know what I want.”

Chat Noir was quiet for a bit. She felt incredibly silly, bringing this up when he had people to save. Well,  _ they  _ had people to save, but he didn’t know that. Instead, she was getting worked up over the idea of giving up on Adrien full stop, dating someone else, and maybe someday getting over her heartache of not being with her first love. She needed to wave off the entire conversation and insist they start anew. “I’m sorry. This is important, and I’m holding you back because of some stupid feelings.”

“No, this is too much for you,” he said, looking concerned.

“No,” she said, hoisting herself up. She looked out the window, rubbing her injured arm. “I can do this. It’s just... I had a talk with my friends earlier. And we talked about some things that I don’t want to face right now, but I will probably have to. I’m letting this bad memory get in the way of helping others, and it’s hurting people. That’s not okay. I should just do what I need to do. But it’s on my mind, and it hurts.” She realized she was playing with the necklace. The embarrassment was almost overwhelming. She had nowhere to hide from anything she was feeling right then. Failure as a superhero, heartache, confusion, exhilaration, shame. It was never easy to feel any of that as Ladybug. She felt even more vulnerable to it as Marinette.

The bond shimmered and crackled between them. 

Chat Noir lifted himself up and joined her in staring out the window. “I know a few things about heartache,” he said. “And needing to move on. I tried, too, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Things felt wrong. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

They were both quiet for a moment. Marinette spoke up first. “And then you have to get caught in moments like this?” she asked. “I’ve never had a real first kiss before. It’s another decision that’s not in my control. I’m sure you’re not happy about it.”

He looked at her and grinned. “You think I would regret kissing you?”

“If it’s not your choice,” she said. “I think you’d rather kiss Ladybug.”

“Well, apparently, I have,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But not anything I remember. Wow, my life is complicated.”

Marinette laughed. Then she realized he wasn’t in her head earlier to know they had shared the same thought. She cleared her throat and looked forward. “Sorry. I just understand what you mean. But for the record, I wouldn’t regret kissing you, either.” 

He let out a chuckle. The two looked outside for a few comfortable, quiet moments. Then she heard him sigh. “As a superhero, we don’t always get to choose the direction of our lives.” Marinette looked over to him. He continued to stare outside. He shrugged a little, the gentle, playful smile she was so familiar with on his face. “I think I got lucky. I don’t get to have a lot of freedom in my life. Anytime I put on the suit and I get to see Ladybug, and fight for something worth fighting for, I’m happy. I mean, it’s hard and frustrating, scary and sometimes a little heartbreaking. But she’s my friend, always by my side, and we’re fighting together for a greater good. Life has a whole new meaning. I feel more alive. And those are my happiest moments. But I know it’s not the same for Ladybug,” he said.

His eyes darting across the sky as if he hoped to see her. “She gets frustrated sometimes, and she has to concentrate to get the job done in a way I don’t have to. I try not to think about it, but in order for me to have those moments of freedom and enjoyment and time with my partner, it means someone else is hurting. The akumatized victims, the people they love... the citizens who get caught up in it. And now it seems like more and more of that is getting taken away. I didn’t exactly want everyone to see that video of me and her - it meant something for me. It’s the only time I get to see her - fighting akumas together. Even if she doesn’t love me, she’s still my friend. I love my time with her. But now it’s becoming everyone else’s time. Maybe it’s what I deserve for finding my happiness when other people are hurting.”

Marinette felt some of her guardedness towards her partner dissolve. The tapping of something in the back of her mind grew louder. The light-headedness came back. But she tried to push it to the side, just for a moment. “You deserve happiness, too,” she said softly, turning her body towards him. He followed suit. “The fact that you even think about that kind of stuff shows how much you care. I’m sure Hawk Moth never thinks about how he’s affecting people to get whatever it is he wants.”

He got a funny look on his face. “That’s setting the bar low,” he said.

She giggled. “I meant that he’s the one doing this to begin with, not you! And, well, what do I know? I don’t know that many superheroes, so I can’t really compare.”

He laughed softly. “But you know Ladybug,” he said. She jolted in surprise. She was ready to deny, deny, deny. But then he leaned in close and whispered in her ear their little secret. “Will we need to keep playing this cat-and-mouse game?” He backed away, smiling. “Personally, I thought you looked great in costume.”

Marinette took a deep breath, before letting out a short laugh. Multimouse. _Of course,_ he meant Multimouse. “Beautiful, even?” she said. She chided herself a little for bringing it up. It had not really registered fully when he said it to her, but now that it had time to sink in, she wanted to hear it more.

He looked to the side. Was he blushing? It must have been a trick of the glowing light from the bond. Then he smiled coyly. “Good enough to eat.”

Marinette was still. Chat Noir was still. It took a beat for him to realize what he had said. He stepped back, putting up his hands defensively. “I mean, cause I’m a cat and you’re a mouse and cats eat mice, but not like - okay, I’m realizing how that was the wrong thing to say in a lot of ways and…” He stopped explaining when Marinette started laughing. She didn’t think she had ever seen Chat Noir quite that embarrassed before. But he started laughing, too.

“You know,” he said after their laughter subsided. “I never thought about it before, but you know about things like Kwamis. You’ve fought akumatized victims before. You’re a hero in your own right. Not a princess waiting for her knight to save her.”

“Yeah, because you haven’t saved me at least five times before,” she said sarcastically.

He leaned in close and tapped his clawed finger to her nose. “I’ll be your partner and your knight. Whatever you need me to be.” Marinette blushed. Her heart started beating fast again. He was unbearably close. She either needed to push away or draw nearer. But she willed herself to stay where she was as he looked down at her. 

Did she shrink when she wasn’t Ladybug? Was he always this much taller than her? Maybe she just felt small next to him as her civilian self.

Marinette lifted herself up on her tiptoes, as though that would make her feel more confident. If he had plans to say anything else, they were wiped from his mind as a serious look replaced his playful smile. She had unintentionally brought her lips closer to his. She didn’t want to back away. All those feelings she put aside tumbled back into the forefront of her mind. If she didn’t act on them, she felt like she would burst.

Marinette put her hand against the back of his neck, gently pulling him closer. Chat Noir tentatively put his hands on her waist. They closed their eyes.

Their lips touched. The room shined bright.

And for a moment, their world stood still.


	5. Tiny Sparks

Feeling nervous around Adrien made sense. He was her first love. The anxious energy of being enamored with him and the butterflies every time they touched were a given. The over-analysis of every single thing he said and did to figure out if maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way - it was all familiar to Marinette.

Standing there, raised on her tiptoes, lips touching Chat Noir’s - it was just different. Her mind wasn’t over-analyzing, she didn’t feel like she needed to pull away. She thought her anxiety would ruin it all for her. In fact, she wasn’t thinking much at all. Her mind was quiet, clear, maybe even a little euphoric. At the same time, there was a spark coursing through her body. She wanted to be closer to him. She never wanted the feeling to end. Everything just felt right.

Chat Noir pulled away first. Marinette stood there for a moment, her eyes still closed, still reeling in the feeling she wasn’t all that familiar with - calm. She heard a slight chuckle from him. That made her finally open her eyes. Maybe that was a bad idea. He was still so close. But whatever made him chuckle was a fleeting thought as he once again donned a serious look. She had not been ready for the first kiss to end. And so, it seemed, neither had he.

They didn’t mean to have a second kiss - it was not the plan. She wasn’t even sure who went in first. But for a moment, she was awash again in the peaceful calm in her mind as their lips once again pressed together. The micro-dose of lightning coursed through her body. She knew she would indulge too much in it if she allowed it. But she could feel his soft hair under her fingertips, the inviting warmth of his body, the welcome insistence of his hands on her hips.

They pulled away at the same time. Marinette looked up to Chat Noir. He smiled at her. She could feel the smile already on her face.

It was with a jolt that she remembered she shouldn’t be kissing her partner. A second jolt hit her as she realized the kiss was as Marinette - not Ladybug. What in the world was she _doing_ ? What in the world was _he_ doing? One kiss was one thing, but they just kept going? If they were going to kiss each other, why couldn’t she be Ladybug at the time?

The familiar panic set in. Her eyes widened as she allowed her heels to touch the ground again. Chat Noir made a small sound of surprise before he stepped back a bit and looked down at her feet. “Were you on your tiptoes?” he asked.

“W-well, yeah.”

Chat Noir covered his mouth as he tried to hold back his laughter. Marinette scowled slightly, crossing her arms in offense. That just made his laugh more pronounced. The more he tried to stop, the less he could hide his laughter. “Oh, okay, okay, I’m shorter than you. Big deal.”

“No,” he said between laughs. “It was just so cute!” He stepped a little closer and eyed their height difference. He laughed some more.

She blushed as he tried to rein in his amusement. But the sound was contagious, and soon she started laughing too.

Once the two calmed down, she looked at her arm. “Oh!” she said. Chat Noir had noticed as well, rubbing his wrist where the cuff had been.

They looked to each other in triumph. Then Marinette put her hand above her injured arm and looked away. “I, um... I guess you should get going.”

“R-right,” he said. “That would be a good idea.” Neither of them moved. Marinette looked up at him again. He had his mouth slightly open like he wanted to say something, but it wasn’t coming out. He closed it, tried again, made a face as he tried to decide what to say next. “Uh, is your...do you...I don’t…” He vaguely gestured here and there, but she worked out at least one phrase he meant to say.

“My arm will be okay,” she said, nodding gently. He looked at her like a lost kitten, unsure of what to do. “Really, Chat Noir, you should go. I won’t take it personally. We needed to break the bond, anyway.”

“R-right,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked around, as though it would help him say something. “The, uh... I think the elevator is that way,” he said, pointing. “I would take you myself, but I don’t want to risk Love Connector finding us again - I don’t know if he can re-do his spell. And... I really don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

She nodded. “I understand.” They stood there in silence again. “I should probably -”

“It wasn’t just to break the bond,” he said. “Really. I don’t want you to think that I don’t like you that way. You know, cause I do. I, uh…. really do. Otherwise, the, uh, the kiss. It wouldn’t have worked.”

Marinette felt her face heat up, but she smiled anyway. “I know, Chat Noir.” She didn’t know if she should return the sentiment. She certainly felt like she should. But she was feeling nervous now, with him standing there and looking at her with those green eyes of his.

He looked to the roof access exit, then back to Marinette. She could see the urgency weighing on him, but he needed to say something else. She didn’t know what to do to make him leave. Probably because she didn’t really want him to leave. She certainly didn’t want to make him feel worse about either option. She chose her next words carefully.

“I won’t tell anyone anything,” she assured him. “Our conversation was just for us, right?”

He crossed his arms and sighed. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Well,” she said, thinking maybe he was confused because he liked a kiss that wasn’t from Ladybug. She felt wrong, suddenly. She had all the ability to give him that moment, and she had robbed him of it. He loved Ladybug. He wanted that kiss with her, not Marinette. “Look, Chat Noir... I know this is probably not what you had in mind. You said that being a superhero meant giving up parts of your life... I’m sorry you had to give this up, too.”

“What? No!” he blurted out, moving forward and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Please, don’t think that way, Marinette. It’s not about that. I can’t tell you what it’s about. Because, well… I can’t tell you what I’m thinking. Not because it’s dirty or anything!” he added hastily, waving his hands defensively. Marinette bit back a laugh at that. “I mean, aside from thinking we could do that again anytime you…” He stepped back and cleared his throat, not finishing that thought. He looked away, trying to reframe his panicked explanation. “I have to keep my identity secret, and I’ve already... well, I’ve said too much. Just know that... I don’t regret it. It was more than I thought it would be. And I’m really glad I was able to share a first kiss with you.”

Marinette was a little stunned. A slow smile spread across her face along with a blush. She covered her cheek shyly with her good hand, but nodded all the same. That seemed to satisfy whatever he wanted to say. He smiled. And suddenly, with a smirk, he was back to his normal self.

“Well, I guess I better find this love-guru and get things squared away. Don’t need any more of this _cat_ astrophe going on under my watch. Try not to think about me too much once I’m gone.” He grabbed her good hand, leaned down, and kissed it. “Get to safety, Marinette.” He winked at her, then took off toward the door. He gave her one last look, before he opened the door and disappeared.

Marinette loosed a breath. She relaxed her shoulders, released the stiff feeling in her muscles. Walking over to the window, she pressed her forehead against it, closing her eyes. “Don’t even say anything.”

Tikki popped out of the purse, floating just in Marinette’s periphery. “But it’s your first proper kiss!” she said triumphantly. “ _Kisses_ , even!” Marinette turned her head and glared at the Kwami. “And with your partner! How did it feel?”

Marinette threw back her head in a dramatic sweep. “Tikki, I have no idea. It was... really nice. Like, _really_ nice! But he’s Chat Noir. And I wasn’t even Ladybug! This is not at all what I would have expected to happen.” She turned and leaned against the window, trying to find a good place to rest her good arm when she couldn’t cross them. Finally, she let it just hang down on her side. “But I really can’t spend the time thinking about that. I should get going. I think he’s probably gone now, right?”

“Were you expecting to kiss him as Ladybug?” Tikki asked.

Marinette jolted upright. “What? No!” She forced a laugh, turning to look out the window again. She kept the scenario in her head - kissing him with lipstick on - as an interesting thought experiment in her head, and only that. What would that be like? What would he say? What would the transfer of lipstick on his lips look like? Just interesting ‘what if’ scenarios that no one else needed to know. But now that someone had said the words out loud, she had to wonder - did she? It only seemed natural that the two would kiss eventually of their own accord. For… team-building purposes, of course.

She sighed. Her mind was a mess. What was she even thinking?

“Uh, Marinette…” The girl in question looked up to her Kwami, who was looking up the ceiling. Marinette followed Tikki’s gaze to a red blinking light in the dark recesses of the room. It took a moment for her to see the lens as well.

Marinette froze. It was pointing right at her. Why, why, _WHY_ would a storage area need a security camera? There was absolutely no one on the floor. How would they miss if someone tried to steal a chair?

Without saying another word, Marinette walked stiffly towards the roof access door. Closing it behind her, she looked around the stairwell quickly. “That could have been _really_ bad,” Marinette said. “I was about to transform. Do you think anyone watches that feed?” She gasped suddenly and spun to Tikki. “Do you think it had sound?!”

“I don’t know. Lucky that technology can’t detect Kwamis.”

“Yeah,” Marinette said warily. “Too bad, the same doesn’t apply for superheroes.” She walked up the stairs and took a careful look outside before letting herself onto the rooftop. No cameras that she could see. “We’ll have to worry about that later.”

“Will you be okay?” Tikki asked, floating down to her arm and gingerly touching it. Marinette undid the sling and experimented with her range of motion. There wasn’t much of one. The wind whipped the scarf out of her hand and blew off into the distance.

Marinette sighed. “It will have to be. Everything will be healed soon, right?”

“Be careful, Marinette.” The girl nodded, before yelling the transformation phrase. After a moment, she tested her flexibility with her yo-yo. Why did it have to be her right arm? She could barely manage to flick her wrist. She could think of a million times she could have practiced being ambidextrous without the stakes being so high. 

She tried to use her yo-yo with her left hand, flicking her wrist. It thunked loudly on the floor, before needing a hard tug to pull it back up. Not the greatest start. She threw her yo-yo, watching it wrap around the buttress of a nearby building. She needed to trust the untested as she jumped from the building with only her non-dominant hand to hold her.

~~~~

“Let’s get straight to the _point_ ,” Chat Noir said with a grunt as he leapt out of the way of the lunging saber. “You’re never going to win someone over if you try to force them to love you.” His eyes shifted from the villain to the woman bound to him. She was a mix of angry and pleading, going from pulling the connection between them (preventing Love Connector from properly trying to attack), to holding back frightened sobs. It broke Chat Noir’s heart to see her cry. He felt terrible for her, from all the things she was yelling - how intense and pushy it seemed the akumatized victim had been beforehand, and how much he was ignoring her feelings. He hoped, so much, that he was never that way with Ladybug. But he kept thinking of how upset he was with her because she didn’t show up for his rooftop surprise, or how cold he acted towards her after she rejected the rose.

Chat Noir blocked the attack from the sword with his baton. “Let her go,” he said. “If you really loved her, you wouldn’t put her in danger like this!” He lifted his stick, intending to bring it down on the enemy. But Love Connector pulled back, pulled the girl (her name was Evelina, he had learned) forward, and Chat Noir had to halt his attack just before hitting her. She screamed and closed her eyes. But the hero had impressive control over his weapon.

Love Connector shoved Evelina to the side, and kicked Chat Noir hard in the chest, sending him flying backward. He lay on the floor as the villain threw the supposed love of his life backward, and stood over Chat Noir, saber raised.

A red yo-yo zipped past the villain’s head. Then it zipped back. Both Chat Noir and Love Connector looked towards the path of the weapon. Ladybug awkwardly caught it in her hand. She groaned as she stomped her foot. “Seriously?”

“Ladybug?” Chat Noir asked. She almost never missed. 

Love Connector seemed to brighten at the sight of her. “Great of you to join us! Ready to work things out with Chat Noir. Word on the street is that you’ve been rejecting him for a long time, now.” Chat Noir felt his stomach drop. Surely Ladybug would hate it if they were forced to kiss.

He scrambled to his feet, putting a hand out to her. “Don’t come near me, Ladybug.”

Ladybug’s eyes zipped over to him, going from annoyed that her yo-yo didn’t work properly, to concerned for him... and something else. Sadness? Pity? He couldn’t tell. “Don’t worry, my kitty,” she said, readying another toss of her yo-yo. Then her expression changed to fear. “Look out!”

Chat Noir hopped out of the way as Love Connector brought down his sword again. He lost track of Ladybug as she ran off.

The saber came down hard, and Chat Noir blocked it with his stick. Sparks flared where the metal hit metal, and he shoved the saber away from him before lunging forward. Blocking the next attack, the villain swung his saber around and brought it down hard with a yell.

A yo-yo came around the top of the sword, stopping it in place. Chat Noir used the momentary surprise and the villain’s forward momentum to trip Love Connector while using his baton to wrench his saber-wielding wrist backwards. The villain had no choice but to let go of his weapon as he fell forward.

Ladybug stepped to the side as the yo-yo brought the saber hurtling towards her. It stuck into the side of the building as she flicked moved her hand to recall her weapon.

Chat Noir smiled. He really loved that girl.

The superhero swung around, his stick ready. Then he froze. Love Connector had used the bond between him and Evelina to wrap around both of them; Evelina in front of him, looking terrified at what would happen next. Chat Noir kept his stick at the ready while Love Connector aimed a flower from his bouquet at him. “What do you plan to do now?” the villain asked. “Hurt an innocent civilian just to stop me? Well, I can assure you that she is not innocent. She’s been playing with my heart for years. Telling me she doesn’t want a boyfriend, then choosing men who only hurt her. And who’s there to pick up the pieces? It doesn’t pay to be nice. We never get the girls.”

“I thought we were friends,” Evelina yelled, frustration and fear mixed on her face. “You said we were. I thought I could count on you when I was feeling down.” She stood there, looking scared. Looking to Chat Noir and Ladybug to save her.

“You need to let her go,” Chat Noir said.

He heard Ladybug come up behind him, but she kept some distance off to the side. “You’re ruining any relationship you could have continued to have with her,” Ladybug said. “You’re putting her in danger. Leave this fight between us.” Love Connecter looked between Chat Noir and Ladybug. “You won’t remember what you did when you were akumatized, but she will. And right now, you’re hurting her. You might still be able to recover from this and heal your relationship.”

Love Connector let out a breath. “Her freedom for your miraculous!”

“That’s not going to help you,” Chat Noir said. “Listening to Hawk Moth will only make things worse. You’re betting your friendship with her on what? Some jewelry someone else wants for themselves?”

“I can continue to keep my ability,” he said. “Help other poor souls who never got a chance from the ones they love! Keep her bound to me until she finally learns to love me!”

“That’s not love, that’s control,” Ladybug yelled. “You can make this right again. Just don’t put her in the line of fire.”

Love Connector seemed to consider that. Chat Noir loved to hear Ladybug try to talk sense into akumatized victims. It rarely worked, but it was so very her. She always had faith that a few well-said words and a kind voice could change someone’s mind. It was the gentle side of the superhero that he always felt honored to see.

And it seemed to work. With a bow of his head, Love Connector untangled the bond around them. Evelina stepped forward, sighing from relief. And to everyone’s surprise, he released the connection between them; the light fading away into nothing.

But the relief was short-lived.

Chat Noir saw the smirk on Love Connector’s face. “No!” Chat Noir yelled as he grabbed up the woman and leapt to the top of a nearby building. He held Evalina by the hand over the edge as she screamed.

“I bet you wish you were bound to me now!” He said to her. And let her drop.

“Catch her!” Ladybug yelled to Chat Noir, who was already racing over to the falling woman. He used his stick to launch himself into the air, grabbing her mid fall. She screamed in hysterics, holding on tightly to the hero as he landed. He put her down, but she clutched on in terror. “It’s okay! You’re safe now!” She looked around, slow to take in that she was safely on the ground. She gasped, letting go and backing away, pointing at something just past behind Chat Noir.

He spun around, but it was too late. One moment, Ladybug was dodging an attack from the enemy’s reclaimed saber, the next she was tossed directly towards them. Chat Noir barely caught her in time, but they both went tumbling on the ground. She cried out in pain. “Ladybug!” he said, scrambling over to her. “Are you okay?”

She was holding her right wrist.

His lady was injured. How, he couldn’t be sure. She should have been near invulnerable. They had crashed into each other a hundred times before and never sustained an injury.

Evelina screamed, “look out!” There was a sharp, familiar pain that overcame him, just for a moment. Once the pain subsided, Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other. Then looked at their hands. And that’s when they noticed the shining bond between them.

Ladybug groaned at the sight of it. “SERIOUSLY?! HOW?!” The bond had connected to her right wrist and his left. Chat Noir felt his stomach drop. Of course he would be bound to his lady. But now that he had shared that moment with Marinette, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

They looked at each other in concern.

Love Connector leaped into their line of sight, hitting Evelina once again with one of his roses and reconnecting them. She cried out in frustration. The poor girl was in hysterics at this point. The villain ignored that. “Looks like you’re in a bit of a spot. All the better for me!” Both Ladybug and Chat Noir rose and stood tall.

“You act like we don’t know how to work together!” Ladybug said. “We’re a team. We--” Before she could finish her words, he lifted his saber and brought it down on them. Ladybug and Chat Noir both leapt away in different directions, the sword hitting the pavement between them. Ladybug hissed in pain as she came to the end of her bond. She readied into a fighting position. Chat Noir followed suit, moving close to Ladybug to take some strain off her apparently injured arm. “We pull together no matter what we face. And we always, _always_ win!” Chat Noir jumped forward and parried another lunge with the saber. The villain swung Evelina in front of him again as a shield, and Chat Noir pulled away.

Tears were streaming down her face. Her tears made the hero angry. “She doesn’t deserve this. She rejected you. I know that can hurt. But you can’t claim to love her and not even show the most basic of respect for her.”

Love Connector clutched his bouquet angrily. “You know nothing about love!” He aimed the saber at Chat Noir. He smirked as he raised it up. Then he swiped it down towards Ladybug. Chat Noir grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away. The villain probably would have followed, but the bond between himself and the Evelina stopped him. Chat Noir and Ladybug ran off into an alleyway while the villain screamed at his captive to move. She had wrapped arms and legs around a light post and refuse to let go.

The two heroes pressed their backs against the wall. Chat Noir was lost in thought. He wasn’t like the villain. He _wasn’t_ like him. But he knew some behavior looked the same. He saw an ugly reflection of himself in a fun-house mirror that was the akumatized person. It made him sick to his stomach. He looked to Ladybug, who had her eyes closed, catching her breath. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he murmured.

She looked over to him, eyes wide. “Don’t be,” she said, waving her free hand. “It’s not like we’re not used to working together.” She grabbed the bond and tested the length between them. “Though it’s going to be a little tight, this time.” She walked towards the edge of the alley, opened up her yo-yo, and used the camera to peer around the corner. “He’s arguing with her. That poor lady.” Closing the yo-yo with one hand, she had a look of concentration on her face. “The bouquet seems to be where the akuma is. He gave up his freedom to have the woman tied to him - we have to figure out how to grab the bouquet without him using her as a shield anymore.”

Chat Noir shrugged. “Couldn’t you use your yo-yo to grab it from him?”

“Uh…” Ladybug said, looking at her cuffed hand. Chat Noir watched her curiously, remembering her injury. Before he could ask, she continued. “You know, it might be difficult with the cuff on. We might need a little luck on our side.” With her left hand, she threw up her yo-yo to call a lucky charm. She awkwardly tried to catch the falling object, but it fell to the floor instead. Chat Noir picked it up for her, turning it around in his hand as they both looked at it: a red and black polka-dotted wind-up mouse. “A cat toy?”

“Maybe it’s telling you to spend more time playing with your favorite feline,” he said with a smile. Normally, she would scoff at his joke, tell him to focus, or just ignore the comment when the stakes were so high. Instead, her lips twitched, and she looked away. Well, this was an interesting reaction. He would have been lying if he said he didn’t feel proud of himself for making her smile.

He looked at her curiously as tried to quell a tiny fire starting in his mind. He wanted to investigate it - this spark that had come to life from memories, like kindling in his mind. Something that, if he continued to dwell on it, was likely to consume his thoughts in a wild blaze. He knew how disastrous that could be after the Kwamibuster incident. No, he had to douse the flames in his mind that were threatening to turn into a conflagration. His lady was injured. He needed to focus.

She noticed him looking at her. Did she blush? Maybe that was a trick of the light from the glowing bond. She cleared her throat and peeked around the corner with her bug phone again. The way she looked around at things and finally smiled told him she had come up with a plan. Involving him, no less. The best type of plan.

“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do,” she said. He listened, nodding in agreement over the general simplicity of it.

“Okay,” he said, unsure. “But what if you don’t get the reaction you want?”

Ladybug took a deep breath. “That was a concern of mine,” she admitted. “But it’s the plan I see. Master Fu confirmed for me a long time ago - a lucky charm never fails. But if the plan itself fails, well... we’ll have to start again from the drawing board.”

Chat Noir nodded, looking over to the woman. She was so frantic. He wanted her nightmare to end. “Then let’s finish this, my lady.”

He noticed the smile on her face after he said that. She shuffled on her feet and shook her head; the smile replaced by a look of determination.

Interesting…

He looked over to her, waiting for her to give the signal. Ladybug twitched her wrist, making her hiss in a breath of air. He couldn’t ignore the problem anymore. “What happened?” he asked, making her falter. He looked at her wrist. Her left hand flickered to her right, before she stopped herself and stood up straight.

“I’m fine,” she said, and mustered a casual smile. “It’s just an old injury acting up. From when I broke my arm as a kid. Took a hard hit dodging his attack before I could transform! That could have been bad, right?” Ladybug was good at thinking on her feet, but he knew this was a lie. She rarely talked about her life, and even more rarely brought up what she was doing before an attack. He gave her a dubious look. “The villain?” she reminded him. She was right, of course. They were heroes. They didn’t let their injuries get in the way. But he planned to give her hell if this failed because she claimed to be fine.

Ladybug moved purposefully as she held the mouse still in her right hand, not moving it, and worked her left hand to wind it up. She then readied with her left hand to throw. “You’re not left-handed,” he said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

Ladybug faltered in her throw, holding the mouse close to her chest. “Chat! We have to concentrate,” she said with annoyance.

“Why don’t you throw it with your right hand, then? Seems like a better use of your energy when we need to do a plan correctly.”

She sighed. “If you’re going to keep interrupting me while I’m trying to concentrate, why don’t you throw it?” She held the toy out to him. Yes, he found that suspicious. Yes, he knew he was playing right into her excuse for why she couldn’t throw it. But… there was a cat toy involved. And he was a cat-themed superhero. He smiled widely as he took the toy and purred with delight. “Calm down, kitty,” she said with a chuckle. “We still have work to do.”

He gave a wicked grin. He geared up his pitch and tossed the wound up cat toy near Evalina’s feet. She was wiping away tears while Love Connector held her up by the arm, looking around for where the heroes had gone. Her tears didn’t stop her from hurling accusations at him. “--and calling me in the middle of the night and pretending that you were just acting stupid because you were drinking is not endearing or cute, it’s annoying and I had to go to work tired so many days because of you. You are dick! I can’t believe I spent so much time trying to justify your behavior because we were friends. I hope Chat Noir takes his stick and shoves it up your ass, you lousy, no good—MOUSE!” 

Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt out of their hiding place as Evelina jumped out of the way of the cat toy skittering around her feet. They jumped behind the villain, crouching low behind him and pulling on their bond. Evelina crashed into Love Connector in her panic and he flailed backwards, tripping over the bond. The bouquet in his hand went flying in the air. Chat Noir reached up and grabbed it with his right hand. “Cataclysm!”

The bouquet turned to black dust and crumbled in his hand. The akuma’s wings beat until it was free from the bouquet’s debris and flew skyward.

Ladybug stood up, readied her right hand with her yo-yo. She tried to throw it, but it went sideways, hitting a light post, and fell with a clatter on the ground. She groaned in pain as she held her wrist. Then she moved her fingers to recall the yo-yo.

She yelped as it came towards her. Chat Noir caught it inches from her face, keeping her from embarrassing herself. “You’re fine, huh?” he asked, giving her a look as he tossed it back to her.

Ladybug frowned at him, before looking on the ground for something. She trudged to the skittering toy mouse, its movements slowing down, and tossed it up in the air while yelling, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The ladybugs zipped around, swirling to other parts of the city and other victims. Markings from the saber fight vanished. Evelina, while still hysterical, was cleaned up and unbonded from Love Connector, who turned normal again. Then they twirled around Ladybug’s right wrist. The cuff disappeared. She didn’t waste a second. The akuma was nearly out of sight. She threw her yo-yo at the akuma, and with a flick of her now healed wrist, recalled it into her hand. “Gotcha! Bye, bye, little butterfly,” she said gently as the now white butterfly flew off.

Ladybug lifted her hand in a fist “Pound i--”

“How did you really hurt your arm?” he asked. He crossed his arm as he looked at her accusingly. He wasn’t sure why it mattered so much at that point. They had won. She was healed. Ladybug was secretive for a reason. He would never hold that against her in any other situation. But the embers in his mind were crackling again, and he no longer needed to concentrate.

“W-wha? Oh, it was just... the cuff was tight, you know? For my old, flared up injury. But it’s better now.”

He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. “You took your time coming here.”

“I... had trouble using my yo-yo,” she said. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Kitty Cat. But I got here right on time, didn’t I?” She flashed him a nervous smile.

They stood there silently, regarding each other, waiting for the other to make their move.

Hearing the chirp of her earring, he sighed and dropped his line of questioning. He smiled warmly to her. “You always do. And I’m always glad to see you, bugaboo.”

Ladybug pointed to her earring. “Sorry, gotta go. Can you handle the aftermath here?”

Chat Noir looked back to Evelina, who was racing away. She may have been healed physically, but the man chasing after her had hurt her far too deeply to not have left scars. “You’d think he would have gotten the hint by now.” Then the guilty feeling hit him again. “Ladybug,” he said, just as she was about to throw her yo-yo. “... that’s not you and me, is it? I mean, not as severe as that, of course, but...me pursuing you and all?”

Ladybug looked genuinely surprised at the question, looking to Chat Noir’s face, then to the pair of people who were nearly out of sight. The former villain’s voice carried loud through the street, with Evelina occasionally yelling at him to leave her alone. “What about that would you think is us?”

“I... I don’t bother you by always... talking about us like a couple, do I? Even though you’ve told me you love someone else?”

Ladybug watched him for a moment. She walked up to him and laid her hands on his chest. He always enjoyed it when she was so close to him, but something about this time felt different. The fact that she looked a little guilty made him wonder if he had this all wrong. “You’ve always treated me with respect, Chat Noir. That will never be us.” She looked at him for a moment. Her eyes drifted to his lips. He went still, wondering what she was planning to do. Anticipating, even.

And then her damn earrings chirped again.

Ladybug lowered her head, patted his chest, then smiled up to him. “Bug out,” she said with a wink, before tossing her yo-yo taking off.

Chat Noir watched her leave, his thoughts catching fire. From his kiss with Marinette, to how she looked injured, to the looks Ladybug gave him during the fight. He shook his head. He smothered those thoughts with the memory that he still had so much work to finish for school.

With a sigh, he watched the arguing pair of people screaming at each other in the distance just as a news van pulled up. Chat Noir extended his baton and left. He had enough to think about without cameras messing things up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear God, I never want to see this chapter again. It was a mess to edit, and some mild chaos in my life kept me from posting when I wanted to. I'm just hoping that didn't come through in the way the chapter itself read. That being said, thank you all for your kind words on the last chapter! It really kept me going when I wanted to toss my laptop last night trying to finish by my self-imposed posting time, and kept me optimistic when I had to give up and try again the next day. 
> 
> I'm so not going to finish posting by Valentine's Day like I had hoped *sigh*


	6. The Calm

The moment Adrien de-transformed, he collapsed onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, taking in everything that had happened that day. He couldn’t even begin to deconstruct the moment that he had kissed his friend and classmate (whom he will somehow have to act normal around at school tomorrow), before Plagg was in his line of sight, looking down at him. “Your first real kiss! And with Marinette! And you wanted to let her down after she confessed to you.” He squealed happily as he twirled in the air. “Maybe you can ask her to make a camembert macaron! Yes, they exist. I looked them up after the first time she confessed to you. I’ve been waiting for this day to come!”

“I _did_ let her down gently,” Adrien said, covering his eyes. “I thought she was over Chat Noir.” Now that he had a moment to think, all he could remember was how soft her lips felt pressed against his, how his hands felt on her trim waist. It was so intimate, so exciting, so calm, so perfect.

Oh, God, and how she had to stand on her tiptoes just to kiss him. He didn’t realize something like that could be so adorable. How had a moment so amazing have existed in the shadows, waiting for the right time to reveal itself and make him fall in love with it? He’d love to see her rise on her tiptoes again to kiss him. How cute was it that she was that much shorter than him? He didn’t think he had a preference in height, but it turned out he did, and it was Marinette sized. He hoped they always shared tiptoed kisses.

Oh, dear, he was going to melt. Where did these feelings come from? Sure, they’ve danced together. He had hugged her; she had hugged him. Her clumsiness meant he had caught her while falling more times than she probably wanted to admit. And yes, he never minded catching her. He never minded the closeness. In fact, being that close to Marinette seemed to come naturally. It wasn’t like Chloe, where she hung off his arm any chance she got. And Kagami had tried kissing him on the lips once, but it just didn’t feel right. He never had to worry about Kagami or Chloe’s height.

Why was he so obsessed with her height?

‘Because she had to work for that kiss,’ he thought. ‘and that’s adorable.’ It was probably the cutest thing he’d ever seen, and Marinette had done it for him, and… “Aagghh!” He groaned, rolling to his side. “I can’t believe I kissed her!” He buried his face in a pillow. “Twice.”

“Okay…” Plagg said carefully. “Was it... bad?”

He uncovered his eyes and glared at Plagg. “No, it wasn’t bad at all! That’s the problem!”

“Eh, it was bound to happen eventually,” Plagg said, lowering himself into a seated position on the boy’s bed. “You’ve always encouraged her secret admirer thing towards you.”

“I-what?” Adrien said, sitting up. “I never encouraged that. I didn’t even know she had a thing for Chat Noir until she confessed to me.”

“Not towards Chat Noir, towards _you_ ,” he corrected. Adrien gave Plagg a look. “It makes sense you’d kiss her when you had the chance. I mean, that tension between you guys is the same energy as when I’m waiting to eat a perfectly ripened piece of cheese that I’ve been aging for weeks. It’s all about timing.”

“Plagg,” Adrien said. “Don’t compare Marinette to stinky cheese.” He sat up. “And there hasn’t been any ‘energy’ between Marinette and me. We’re just friends. If she knew she was kissing me, she would probably freak out.”

“Probably not for the reason you think,” he thought he heard Plagg mutter.

Adrien didn’t really want to listen to Plagg right then. Part of him wanted to bask in the sudden, intense feeling about having kissed a girl. Part of him wanted to pick apart if they had done it just for the spell. Part of him wondered how he could face her at school the next day and not barrage her with, ‘What does this mean?’ questions. But that would require her to know his secret identity. He didn’t want to be some creepy love addict chasing his next ‘more than friends’ moment. Instead, he would have to sit through class, acting like he knew nothing about what her shampoo smelled like, or how her body felt pressed against his, or wanting her hand to run through his hair again.

He needed a distraction.

He moved to his computer desk, then tapped away at the keyboard. His favorite diversion after an akuma - the Ladyblog.

There was a clip of the video where Chat Noir called into the news station. It seemed Alya blurred out multiple people, including Marinette. There was a collection of videos of the victims of the Love Connector - some seeming happier than others. There was even a write up on toxic love based on the supervillain of the day. 

He searched the videos and photos carefully to make sure Marinette wasn’t in anything posted about him, especially with the bond showing. But Alya respected Marinette’s request not to show her face. Adrien wouldn’t expect anything less of her.

Of course, no one could do anything about the other people who took photos of them. He wished he could spare Marinette that kind of attention. It was one thing for Chat Noir to have his face posted everywhere when no one knew who he really was. But Marinette would have no reprieve. And with the amount of knowledge about the event, people would talk. From the videos he had seen, people were already asking for the video of the kiss, hoping to catch a glimpse into a moment meant just for him and Marinette. People even offered to pay money for the rights to disseminate it. People wanting to know ‘who the girl was.’

“Do you think I should check on her?” Adrien asked Plagg, who was sitting at his side, watching the collection of videos Adrien was shifting through while lazily batting a marble from one paw to the other. “What if she’s freaking out right now?”

“Yeah,” Plagg said sarcastically. “If you’re worried about her freaking out about kissing Chat Noir, it makes sense to just show up at her place uninvited.”

Adrien winced. “Yeah, okay... that’s creepy, right?” He tapped his fingers. “What if I just checked on her from afar?”

“Creepier. You’ll see her at school tomorrow. What’s the big deal?”

“Plagg, if she gets hurt because of me, I couldn’t forgive myself.”

“Well, technically, she _was_ hurt, but that was because of Hawk Moth,” he pointed out.

“Not just that. All of this. It’s stressful for me just reading it.” Adrien sunk into his arms on his desk, frowning. “I’d just... feel better if I saw her.” He didn’t want to say to Plagg - the most unromantic kwami in existence - how he felt drawn to her. He knew she was talking about Chat Noir when she was saying those pleasant things about him, but the way she looked at him... She probably didn’t realize she was doing it, but all he could do was remember that he confessed her love for him. Even though he knew he had to say no, it had felt nice. Seeing the love in action was a different thing entirely. 

He could see himself going on dates to the movie with her, taking her out to eat at his favorite restaurants, laying on the grass while watching the clouds pass by, hanging out with her between photoshoots. It would all be perfect if she could be happy with that when he was Adrien.

A pang of guilt settled into his heart. He was in love with Ladybug. Why would he want Marinette to love him just so he could break her heart?

... but Marinette was there and happy to love him. He would be happy to let her kiss him over and over again. It just felt right with Marinette. He finally understood why making out was a thing - it had always seemed boring and kind of gross before that. 

He imagined revealing himself to her, so they could make that fantasy come true. Where she could talk freely to him instead of stumbling constantly on her words. Where she could stand next to him calmly instead of being jumpy. And was it so bad that she just wanted her to be comfortable around him the way she was with Chat Noir?

If he, theoretically, wanted to pursue something with his good friend, Marinette, he would need to do so as Adrien. But Marinette didn’t like Adrien. She liked Chat Noir.

He smacked his forehead. Why did having a secret identity have to be so complicated?

And then his mind drifted to Ladybug. He was still so happy to see her. Part of him wanted to confess to her that he kissed another girl and he liked it. Knowing Ladybug, she would probably be happy for him. But he still felt almost like he was cheating on her. He never knew quite where they stood as a pair. Sometimes he got a hint of something - like maybe Ladybug wanted something more. Or maybe she just didn’t want things to change between them, even if it was him mostly flirting with her. 

He wondered for a moment if Ladybug would even like Marinette. Then he laughed. Of course she would! She already did. She trusted her enough to make her Multimouse. Marinette made an adorable superhero. If only her identity hadn’t been burned.

Everything went still in Adrien’s mind for a moment. Something wasn’t right.

Kagami’s identity had been burned. Ladybug had told him she wouldn’t be able to use her again. She did, however, but probably shouldn’t have. And Kagami, having taken the wasp sting in place of Adrien, was present when Miracle Queen had all the miraculous holders show up.

Thinking back on that moment, he thought he would have gone mad if Marinette had been there with the others. Or, even worse, if he had to fight her. 

He looked to Plagg, who had opened up a forum dedicated to cheese lovers, and was writing back a response to someone who denigrated the name of camembert.

“Plagg,” Adrien said. 

“One second,” he said, his small tail flicking back and forth as he zipped across the keyboard to write back his hasty response.

“When Miracle Queen stung everyone and was controlling them, she made all the miraculous holders show themselves to Hawk Moth.”

“Yeah,” he said absentmindedly as he stretched his body to hit the shift key and the exclamation mark multiple times.

“Do you think that was every miraculous holder?”

“As far as I know, it was,” he said, reading over his response. He added another exclamation mark for good measure. “I’m not completely aware when you’re transformed, but I think I remember correctly.”

“But knowing what you know,” Adrien said.

Plagg sent his response and nodded with satisfaction at having told off a cheese-connoisseur on the internet. “Well, let’s see,” Plagg said, whispering the names of each of the heroes under his breath. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was all of them!”

Adrien stared at Plagg. “What about Multimouse?”

“Who?” Plagg said before a flash of recognition crossed his face. “Oh, right…” He thought for a moment before his eyes widened. “Ohhh, riiiiight.” He spun towards Adrien and made a big show of shrugging. “You know, Marinette is pretty smart. She probably just didn’t get stung. Right?”

It felt like a fire was catching inside his mind, popping and crackling as extinguished embers rekindled.

He remembered suspecting for a minute that Marinette could be Ladybug, and how shocked he was when he saw her and Ladybug together. 

The fire grew bigger.

He remembered what Marinette looked like in the Ladybug costume, but he had been so concerned with his own secret identity being revealed, he didn’t stop to think too much about it.

The flames caught more kindling.

Marinette had injured her arm, and only after they freed themselves from the bonds, did Ladybug bother to show up, with an explanation he knew was a lie.

The inferno was spreading.

Plagg was looking at him with worry on his face. “You okay, there, kid? You’re tired, it’s been a long day. Maybe you should get some rest.”

Adrien kicked away from the desk, holding his hands up for investigation. When he was caught with Marinette, the arm that wasn’t bound to him was the one that was injured. He was caught on the right arm - he remembered because of how much it sucked to fight with his dominant hand being cuffed. And Marinette was to his right, meaning her left arm was cuffed. And Ladybug was right-handed, which was the arm she was having trouble maneuvering, even to throw her yo-yo. “She lied about how she was injured,” he said out loud. “Because it would give her away.”

”Whaaaat?” Plagg said, swooping in front of him, crossing his arms. “What are you talking about, Adrien? You sound tired. You should sleep. Or better yet, order some cheese! They have a sale on CheezeAddicts.com. If you enter the code ‘Stinky’, you get a 25% discount on all smelly cheeses! We should stock up!”

Adrien looked up to Plagg, his mind burning with realization. “Plagg... Marinette... she’s Ladybug, isn’t she?” Just saying it out loud made him smile. His heart was racing. His stomach tightened at the thought. He finally knew. He almost had it before, but this time he was certain. She was right there the whole time.

“Adrien!” Plagg said, waving in front of Adrien as though that would stop him from thinking about it anymore. “Don’t be crazy! You’ve had a rough day, and um…”

Adrien wheeled his chair back to his computer, opening up Marinette’s Instagram on one screen, and on the other, his collection of Ladybug pictures. There weren’t nearly enough pictures of Marinette as he had gleaned of Ladybug, but he didn’t need many to look for similarities. 

Plagg flew in front of him, eyes wide and concerned. “Adrien, this is crazy. That’s a rabbit hole you don’t want to go down. Think about it! You’re here, comparing Marinette to Ladybug, and you’re just going to start seeing proof in everything! You’re getting your hopes up.”

“It has to be her, Plagg,” Adrien pleaded. “The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.”

“Then how do you explain seeing Marinette and Ladybug together when you defeated Kwamibuster?”

Adrien faltered for a moment, then shook his head. “She’s seen Adrien and Chat Noir together before. You said yourself Marinette is smart. Maybe she figured out a way.” How, he would need to think about for a while longer.

Plagg groaned. “But don’t you think that maybe you’re just _hoping_ she’s the same person since you wanted to be with Ladybug for so long, and you have a chance of being with Marinette now? ”

Adrien froze. What if he was right? Marinette was a wonderful girl. He even called her once an Everyday Ladybug. More proof, it seemed. Or was it just the best compliment he could think to give to someone; comparing her to his lady? Plus, how silly would that be? They just _happen_ to live their lives side by side with one another?

Though, there were times that they both ended up at an akumatization at the same time. All very coincidental. Ending up on the Startrain together? Though, she _did_ have the horse miraculous on her. Getting stuck in the same school for the Horrificator? Both being inside the hotel when Kung Food sealed the entrance with caramel? There were quite a lot of instances he had never really put much thought into that she arrived just as an akuma attacked. The wax museum? Chloe’s party? The zoo? All times when Adrien and Marinette both just happened to be there, and both heroes showed up with no time for word to reach the news.

But…

He risked a lot by being wrong. His feelings. Her feelings. Ladybug’s trust as she didn’t want her identity revealed. What was he going to do now? Constantly look at Marinette for proof? How far would that go? Following her until he saw her transform? He would never do that, but he would always be tempted. And if she was Ladybug, how would he even treat that information? How was he even supposed to react around Marinette now as Adrien? It was Chat Noir that she kissed, not him.

“Um, Adrien?” Plagg asked, looking at him with worry.

“I’m okay, Plagg,” he mumbled. He felt defeated. His mind was lighting up, making connection after connection, but now it was throwing doubt into that, as well. He rubbed his temple, overloaded with so much information that his brain was tempted to just shut off for a while. “Maybe you’re right. I am tired. I think I’m going to take a shower then go to bed.”

“Yeah, there you go. Rest that mind. It’ll do you good.”

Adrien took a lot longer than usual. His motions slowed as he washed his hair, let the hot water soothe his aches and pains from the day. But mostly, he let his mind drift. The crackling of new realizations and theories settled down, and what was a firestorm once again became burning embers, mingling each idea and theory together into a simple thought.

Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette _had_ to be his lady. He just had to erase any doubt.

And then, if he could, he just needed to see if she would fall in love with him as Adrien.

-=-=-=-=-

“So then, what happened once you were alone?” Alya asked.

“Nothing,” Marinette said, looking at her friend’s face on her phone as she sat at her desk. She could feel her face flush but hoped to play it off successfully. “We talked. A lot. About ourselves. You know, we didn’t really know each other before that.”

“But, you know… people who were affected usually had some sort of relationship beforehand, or they had feelings toward the person,” she said, a knowing smile coming across her face." Sooo… you were sweet on him or he was sweet on you?”

“Alya, you know I’m in love with Adrien,” Marinette said, wishing she would hurry up with this makeshift interview.

“But you said you thought he was pretty cute,” Alya said with a knowing smile. 

“I said maybe everyone has a little crush on him,” Marinette corrected.

“The ‘cute’ is implied,” Alya said, grin widening. “Hey, no judgement here. I’m totally in love with Nino, but I would SO get together with a superhero if one was interested in me.”

“Carapace?” Marinette asked, before regretting her statement.

Alya’s eyes widened before she laughed. “Damn, I guess I’m pretty obvious, aren’t I?”

“Your response to the poll on ‘Who is the sexiest Superhero’ was pretty telling,” Marinette said with a laugh.

“Can I help it if I have a type?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “The fact that he was second to last was _not_ acceptable. I love my readers but talk about ingrates. Though I’m pretty sure that one user ‘ChatNoirsGFXO’ inflated his numbers with dummy accounts.” Then Alya smiled roguishly. “Unless it was you.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “You got me. I made multiple accounts to make Chat Noir number one on a blog poll. Because I have that kind of time on my hands.”

“Girl, considering how much effort you put into knowing Adrien’s schedule, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Marinette blushed. “Aaaand THAT’S the end of the interview.”

“No, no, wait!” Alya said. “I know you want this to be anonymous, but people have already posted pictures of you. Given how popular Chat Noir is right now, your anonymity probably won’t last long. Are you sure you’re okay with me posting the interview?”

Marinette squirmed. She had scoured the internet as best she could with every iteration of words she could think of to find the security video and her and Chat Noir kissing. In the meantime, she ran across a few pictures and videos of her with Chat Noir in the cafe. People asking who she was, but they didn’t have much traction. It felt like a boulder strung over her head, just waiting to crush her at any moment. With any luck, no one actually watched the security tape, and everything would be fine. And ladybugs were supposed to be lucky, right? “I don’t know. It’s kind of stressful.”

Alya frowned slightly, but her look was still sympathetic. “Well, how about you sleep on it for a bit? There’s usually some time before another akuma attack, and my readers are thirsty for Ladybug/Chat Noir info. Then I can work on polishing up some things you’ve told me, and if you’re okay with it, I can post it sometime midweek. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Marinette said with some relief. She didn’t want to disappoint her friend, but she was glad to have kicked this can down the road for a bit. This particular akuma fascinated people - maybe because it tied in so well with the impending Valentine’s Day. An interview after the attack showed Evelina’s side of the story. Nolan, as they discovered his name, had many videos of him angrily racing away from reporters. It surprised Marinette that he hadn’t been re-akumatized. The entire story of this akumatization was becoming more and more sensationalized by the minute, and it caused no end of knots to form in Marinette’s stomach. For once, she hoped for another akuma attack as a distraction.

She would just die if Adrien saw pictures of her with Chat Noir. Everyone knew what the consequences of the bond did to the pair. There was no way Alya was believing her with her answer, which may have been why she was allowing her to sit on it for a while. Everyone knew Chat Noir called in to get the information from Clara Contard. All that was needed to set that bonfire ablaze was the video of them kissing. It would be like throwing a canister of gas on it, and Marinette’s privacy was in jeopardy. Where would people’s minds go with that?

Well, she knew exactly where their minds would go with that. Even Clara had to make a public statement about what really happened since word got out from other victims - the ones who were freed - about what happened. It was just a kiss, sure, but there was some company rule that endangered both their jobs. Luckily, as it was an akuma attack, there was a certain amount of leeway given to her and the cameraman.

“Thanks, girl,” Alya said, shaking Marinette from her rumination. “Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” Marinette bid her goodbye before hanging up and tossing her phone to the side. After the day she had, she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep.

Just _one more search_ for the video before she went to sleep.

Just as she rolled her chair over to her computer, hands over the keyboard, a little bee kwami popped up with the small broom she had made for herself to sweep the desk. She had a pleasant smile on her face, but when Marinette tried to type, Pollen would bat at her fingers with the broom. Marinette looked at her and sighed. “Did Tikki tell you to do this?” she asked.

“Yes, my queen,” Pollen said.

“You know... if you consider me your queen, you would let me do my search.”

Pollen bowed to her. “It is my pleasure to serve you, Master Marinette, but Tikki is the noble kwami of creation, born from the beginning of the universe, and the oldest creature in all of time. She outranks you.”

Marinette frowned. As the new guardian, she had tried to get the kwamis to stop referring to her as master - she wasn’t even the master of her own life. Most of the kwami’s seemed fine to call her simply Marinette, but Pollen was used to serving, and serve she would. She would only risk having one kwami out at a time to get to know them better and learn more about their powers. Pollen was a little dream - always doing things for Marinette without being asked, always pleasantly smiling, always so respectful to Marinette and Tikki. She wasn’t the best to talk to, though.

Tikki’s small voice came from the bed. “You need rest.”

“How am I supposed to rest after everything that happened today?” Marinette asked. Tikki was drawing back the covers for her on the bed. Pollen dropped her broom as she flew over to help Tikki. Marinette looked away and collapsed into a heap on her desk. “I can’t believe I kissed Chat Noir.” She heard Pollen titter at that statement. “How do I keep getting into these situations?”

Tikki flew back over while Pollen tried to fluff Marinette’s pillow. “I thought you enjoyed the kiss?” Tikki asked, confused.

“Well... I mean, I did. But...it’s Chat Noir. He’s my partner. Wouldn’t this make working together hard? I was able to focus on the task at hand, but when I was close to him at one point... all I could think about was wanting to kiss him again.” She covered her face with her hands. “What’s wrong with me?”

“It sounds like you like him,” Tikki offered. She heard Pollen make a small ‘mm-hmm’ in agreement.

Marinette threw her hands out dramatically. “I can’t like him! For a lot of reasons! And do you know how hard it would be considering that as far as he knows, he kissed Marinette? And not Ladybug? Oh, he would be so happy if he knew.”

“I don’t think it matters as much,” Tikki said. “He seemed pretty happy to me.”

“Really?” Marinette asked, sounding far too hopeful to her own ears. She shook her head. “No, I mean... that’s good if he was. I didn’t want to disappoint the only boy I’ve ever really kissed... outside of breaking the Dark Cupid spell. That one didn’t count. Even if it was the same boy.” She covered her eyes. “Why is my life like this?”

“Marinette, what’s done is done. Neither of you seemed unhappy with it, and it was the best decision to make for the time. I think you’re overthinking it. You probably won’t be seeing him for a few days, so you can take some time to process it and figure out what you want to do about it the next time you see him when it isn’t so fresh.”

The girl sighed. “You’re right, Tikki. After everything I’ve been through, this shouldn’t be more than I can handle.” Marinette closed her eyes, and though the memories of his lips on hers plagued her, his hands on her waist, her hand on his neck, brushing his hair that she could never feel with her suit on...

She forgot where her train of thought was going.

Tikki pulled Marinette out of her chair and towards her bed. “You sure I can’t check one more time?” Marinette picked up Pollen’s miraculous, replacing it in the box. Pollen gave a bow before Marinette closed the box, putting it and the miracle box away. 

“What’s done is done,” Tikki assured her. “You can’t control anything, even if you _did_ find something. You need your rest. It’s the best thing you can do right now.”

Marinette climbed up to her bed, laying down as the Kwami covered her with a blanket. She knew she was right, of course. As her eyes closed, she tried not to think about those green eyes looking at her, or the way she made him smile.


	7. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, just realized after posting the chapter that I forgot to mention - I'm not including Lila in this fic. She's just too strong a character to not do anything with, so let's just say she's...uh, let's see...in Yakyakistan courting their local prince? Or whatever lie she would come up with.

“Come on, Marinette, wake up!” Tikki said, her voice sounding strained. The girl in question felt the tugging on her pajamas. The kwami had already pulled her blankets off. Marinette curled up and shivered, waving Tikki away. “You’re going to be late for school!”

“Mmm-no, I’m not,” Marinette said, pulling the covers back over her. “My alarm didn’t even go off.”

“You didn’t set it before you went to sleep.”

Marinette wanted to laugh - had Tikki forgotten how resourceful she was? “Then my back up phone alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”

“You forgot to plug in your phone last night.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said sleepily.

“Yes, you did!”

“No, I didn’t!” she said a little more forcefully, opening her eyes to see the kwami floating over her.

“Yes, you did,” Tikki confirmed.

There was a moment where Marinette contemplated going back to sleep. Then reality hit her like a truck. She shot up in her bed. “Tikki! I’m going to be late! Why didn’t anyone else wake me yet?” she said as she shot down the stairs to her bedroom floor. The next few minutes were a blur as she grabbed up everything she could - homework, dead phone, books for the day - and hastily washed up and got dressed. She raced down the stairs, grabbed a croissant from her parents - who were too busy taking orders for both Chinese New Year and Valentine’s day to notice their frantic daughter - and ate while waiting for the crosswalk to change.

‘How am I always so late?’ she thought to herself. If it wasn’t Ladybug related, it was Marinette doing something stupid like forgetting to plug in her phone. She lived right across the street from school. It took her two minutes to get there. She couldn’t even get to school on time, yet she was supposed to be Guardian of the Miracle Box and Savior of Paris. She yawned loudly, trying to remember why she was so tired in the first place.

By the time she was in the schoolyard, people were already in their classrooms. She could have sworn some kids from another class were pointing to her and whispering. When she was in the empty locker room, she checked herself over to make sure she didn’t have some massive faux pas going on, like underwear stuck to her leg. (She vowed to herself she would never let that happen a third time.)

She dashed up the stairs to try and wake herself up properly before entering class. Miss Bustier was just finishing the attendance sheet as Marinette walked it. “Sorry, my phone died,” she said sheepishly as the teacher smiled sweetly and asked her to take her seat.

That was when she felt like her clothes were covered in underwear.

Everyone was looking at her. Not in the usual way they did when she arrived late - she had enough experience to know. Everyone was looking at her as though they had all just been talking about her, and now they redirected all that energy to her.

‘Oooh, nooo,’ she thought, as memories from the night before came crashing back to her.

“Please take your seat, Marinette,” Miss Bustier said again, knocking the teenager from her frozen state and sending her sheepishly to her seat. She looked to Alya, who was staring at her like she had two heads. They mimed a conversation with each other while Miss Bustier turned to the blackboard to begin her lecture. Mostly, it consisted of Alya shrugging and emphatically pointing at her phone, and Marinette pointing at her dead phone, shrugging and looking confused. Then Alya smacked her forehead and opened up her notebook, scribbling furiously. Marinette could feel the eyes of all the students in class boring into the back of her head as she tried to ignore them. She did, however, catch Chloe looking back at her then whispering to Sabrina.

When Miss Bustier started writing something on the board, Adrien turned around, catching her eye. He handed her a battery charger with a charging cord, before giving her a gentle smile. She accepted it with a goofy smile on her face before he turned back around.

Alya’s notebook slid in front of her, distracting her from that small interaction. ‘ _ I’ve been calling you all morning. Charge your damn phone! Someone found video of you and CN in a building during the akuma attack. The ‘nothing’ that you told me happened didn’t look like nothing!!!! _ ’ She underlined the last word multiple times. Marinette felt her stomach drop. The boulder over her head had crushed her, and she hadn’t even noticed. ‘ _ Someone e-mailed it to me, and I’m guessing to the news network. They had it as one of their morning ‘feel good’ segments. They eat LB/CN stuff up. It was the talk of the school this morning. _ ’

Marinette had gone completely red, putting her hands to her mouth. She had expected maybe something going viral online, which would be awful enough, but on the news? Her parents watched the news. If they weren’t so busy with holiday orders, they probably would have talked to her about it already. She rapidly scribbled her response. ‘ _ Please don’t tell me there’s audio, and they heard our entire conversation? That was private! _ ’

Alya raised an eyebrow to her before responding. ‘ _ That’s cute. Being worried about what you guys said to each other, and not about the fact that you kissed him. Twice. _ ’ She underlined the last word multiple times. ‘ _ The video didn’t have any audio, it was security surveillance. I knew you were lying, but I thought it’d be a peck! How well do you know him, anyway? _ ’

Marinette looked at the notebook. She was going to be sick. She was actually going to hurl in front of the entire class. In front of Adrien. Maybe even on him since he had the misfortune of being directly in front of her. Chloe would never let  _ that  _ go; she’d probably take a picture and post it to social media, all while tagging Marinette. She could even send it to the news station for when Alec does his “This Week’s Biggest Loser” segment. Her sickly face would be the laughingstock of all of Paris.

She ate that croissant way too fast.

“Marinette?” Miss Bustier asked. “Are you feeling okay?”

Chloe said loudly, “she’s probably just choking on a hairball. Or judging from her hair, I’d say she caught mange.”

“You don’t have to be rude, Chloe,” Adrien chided.

“You know,” Alya said, as Marinette was frozen in place, “I can take her to the nurse’s office - make sure she’s okay.”

“Yes, thank you, Alya.” 

She helped the stunned Marinette up and rushed her out the door, down to the stairs, and into the empty locker room. It was only then that Marinette felt in any way safe to remove her hand from her mouth. “Breathe, girl.”

“How did they get the video?” she squeaked. “How much of the video was there? Is the whole thing there?”

“The news only showed the part where you guys kissed,” Alya said, looking at her apologetically. “That’s the video making the rounds, anyway. But I have the entire thing, so I can only assume whoever sent it could post it themselves whenever they want. Or worse, they could have sent it to other sites, like that LadyNoir blog. You know if that girl has it, she’ll do a deep dive into everything.”

Marinette sunk down to the floor, her hands over her face. Alya sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. In a few days, it will all blow over, and people will talk about something else. And come on, it could be worse. You kissed a superhero. That’s pretty impressive.”

“But it was my first real kiss,” Marinette said, putting her hand over her eyes. “And now it’s out there for people like Chloe to mock? And Adrien’s probably seen it! What’s he going to think?”

“Yeah, and it’s Chat Noir, so people are going to have questions,” Alya agreed. 

Marinette dared to look at Alya, who smiled gently at her and gave her a side-hug. “You’re sure there’s no audio?”

“If there is, I didn’t receive it. Why? You two get kinky?”

Marinette snorted a laugh. “No. But we talked about a few things that... well, he only shared it because it was a private conversation. I’d feel like it would break his trust if it got out.”

“Aww, look at you, worried about your boyfriend.”

“He’s  _ not  _ my boyfriend,” Marinette said far too loud.

“Okay, okay! Too soon to kid, got it. Though I gotta say, when I said ‘starter boyfriend’...”

Marinette put her hands over her ears. “Alya…”

“... I did  _ not  _ mean him.”

Marinette took a few deep breaths before getting up. These things were so much easier when she was Ladybug. Chat Noir was lucky to walk around with anonymity while this was fresh on people’s minds. She had to live with it until it died down. What she wouldn’t give for an akuma attack right then.

“Look, you don’t have to tell people anything,” Alya said. “Just say it’s private and you don’t want to talk about it. Don’t let them get to you.”

Marinette looked at her sadly. She sighed. “Can I see it?” Alya lifted her phone. She had the webpage open with the story ready. It started with Nadja Chamack introducing the segment. Betrayed by Nadja... she was wondering if there were messages from her waiting on her dead phone. She and her fellow announcer talked about how great the Parisian superheroes are, and how they often feel that they exist in another world. They talked about people wanting to see Ladybug and Chat Noir be a couple. Then moved on to how they perhaps caught a glimpse of at least one hero in his personal life. “Personal life? We don’t know each other!” Marinette said with a huff.

“Shh, here comes the good part.”

The video started. They were silhouetted against the large windows. It looked very obvious that Marinette made the first move, moving closer to him. Marinette died a little inside - she just didn’t want to feel so short. She put her hand behind his head - it looked far too intimate for any first kiss someone could expect. Then his hands were on her hips. She felt like her close relationship -  _ working relationship _ \- with her partner was showing. And then the kiss. It felt like it lasted way longer than it actually did, but it was still long enough to warrant questions. Neither of them even bothered to notice when the bond glowed brightly and dissipated without a trace. And then they went in for the second kiss, which lasted a little longer.

Whyyyyy did she have to kiss him twice?

The video minimized, still playing while Nadja and her co-host talked about it with ooey-gooey puppy-love connotations. Marinette continued to watch the video, ignoring what the news personality was saying. She watched Chat Noir laugh at her, then their laugh together, and then realize their bond had broken. It cut off from there.

Marinette’s face turned candy-apple red. 

“Why did he laugh?” Alya asked.

“Because I was on my tippy toes,” Marinette said as she hid behind her hands again.

Alya laughed, too. “That’s cute, though.”

“That’s what he said.”

“Well,” Alya said, putting her phone away. “How about this? If people are asking you too many questions, you can get ahead of it and give your version of the story. We post it on my blog so people don’t draw their own conclusions. If you’re comfortable, I can even put the whole video up so it doesn’t end up doctored somewhere if someone else puts it up.”

“This can’t possibly be that big of a story,” Marinette said.

“Usually, no,” Alya said. “But a world-renowned superhero? A damsel in distress? In the most romantic city in the world? Near Valentine’s Day? With all the hype surrounding the last akuma? People eat that stuff up.”

“Fine,” Marinette said with a sigh. “After school, we can try to get ahead of this.”

Alya nodded and patted her back. “Tonight works better.” Marinette let out an annoyed sigh but nodded in agreement. Alya smiled. “Feeling a little better, at least? You have a plan of action, now.”

“Yeah,” Marinette admitted. “I’d feel a lot better if this didn’t get out in the first place, though.” She quirked her mouth to the side, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry I lied to you that nothing happened.”

“Well, I knew you  _ had  _ to have kissed him,” she said, waving a hand. Marinette sighed and glared at a grinning Alya. Then her face turned serious. “I’m still mad at you, though.”

“What? Why?”

“Cause,” she said, huffing out a breath. “I ship him with Ladybug  _ so hard _ !” Marinette laughed. If only she knew.

-=-=-=-=-

Going back to class felt like walking in front of a firing squad. She didn’t dare look up at anyone as she walked in. Miss Bustier paused for a minute as Marinette and Alya took their seats. Marinette did her best to lose herself in taking notes, but her mind kept wandering. What did this mean? Could this be used against her as Ladybug? If someone thought she had a personal relationship with Chat Noir in her everyday life, they could come after her. The way Nadja had framed it, it certainly seemed like a conclusion people could come to, especially with the short edit of the video.

Oh, she dreaded to check her voicemail when she finally charged her phone.

But part of her felt bad, too. She wondered how Chat Noir was feeling right then, with no one to notice that his life had just been made a spectacle of, and no one to talk to about it.

“You... didn’t take many notes, did you?” Marinette looked up into beautiful green eyes and startled. Adrien was looking right at her. She thought she could burst - for what reason, she didn’t know. It was just her go-to reaction to sudden Adrien attention.

“Oh, yeah, w-well, I…”

It wasn’t until Alya pre-emptively said, “No one has anything to say to you, Chloe,” that Marinette realized class had ended and everyone was getting up from their seat. And paying attention to her.

“What, I can’t come over and watch a tragedy happen before my eyes?” Chloe asked Alya. “It’s all Marinette ever does, anyway. Of course, her love life would be a disaster, too.”

“Alya’s right, Chloe,” Marinette said. “No one has anything to say to you.”

“So, Chat Noir, huh?” Alix asked, cutting everyone to the chase. Marinette chose a spot on her desk and stared; just stared. “That’s pretty cool. I didn’t know you had a thing for him.”

“I don’t,” Marinette said quickly.

“It didn’t look like it,” Rose said with a dreamy voice. Marinette could almost see Rose’s hands over her heart. Except she didn’t look up from the most interesting spot on her desk. “It looked so  _ romantic _ ! Meeting with a secret guy in a secret location for a secret kiss for your secret love for each other! In secret!”

“It wasn’t like that,” Marinette said, furrowing her brow. 

Juleka muttered something that Marinette could only catch a ‘so cool’ from. Marinette dared to look at Juleka, who was looking at her expectantly. “Uh... okay,” she said. Juleka smiled and nodded.

“I’ve done the calculations,” Max said. 

“Kill me, now,” Marinette muttered under her breath as she slumped in her desk.

“And a relationship between you and Chat Noir would only have a 25% chance of succeeding.”

“Why so low?” she heard Adrien ask.

“Well, I extrapolated the data. There are just too many factors working against any type of relationship with a superhero who has a secret identity. He is also a public figure who is loved by the ladies--”

Marinette scoffed, putting a hand over her face, “Loved by the ladies?”

“I told you,” Alya said from beside her, “He won the Ladyblog poll. The polls don’t lie.”

“What Ladyblog poll?” Adrien asked. Marinette sunk further into her chair.

“Sexiest superhero,” Nino said, sounding a little down about it. Alya patted his shoulder.

“Oh,” Adrien replied. “Ladybug wasn’t first?”

“She was second,” Alya said. “But I’m still not sure someone didn’t cheat to inflate the results.”

Chloe scoffed. “Ugh, no one cares about your stupid little ladybug worshipping site. She’s nothing compared to what Queen Bee could have been, anyway, and her flea-ridden sidekick doesn’t deserve to even grace my ears.”

“Partner,” Marinette corrected, glaring to Chloe. “Not sidekick.”

Chloe ignored the interjection. “I hope you like sloppy seconds, Dupain-Cheng, because you know he only kissed you because he couldn’t get any attention from that second rate ‘hero’.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Adrien defended, frowning at Chloe.

Marinette scowled at the girl, who seemed to decide this conversation was far beneath her. She ordered Sabrina to follow her out the door and gave one last smug look back. Her eyes darting quickly to Adrien, before looking back to Marinette. “Good to know there won’t be any more filth muddying the water.”

Marinette glanced quickly to Adrien, hoping he was oblivious to the context of that comment, but he seemed far more interested in paying attention to Marinette.

“So, um,” Nathaniel piped up. “Does this mean that Ladybug is free?”

Marinette blinked, before looking at Nathaniel. “... what?”

Kim cut off any response with, “Since you’re dating a superhero, can you get his autograph for me? I never got a chance to ask.”

“I’m not dating--”

“If you’re dating Chat Noir, what about... um... the other--?” Mylene asked, but Alix nudged her hard in her ribs.

“I’m really not--”

“That was some kiss, though,” Nino piped up. “Honestly, if I ever had the chance to kiss Ladybug, I can’t imagine it would be anything like that.”

“You….?” Marinette wanted to ask if he, Carapace, boyfriend of Alya, would really kiss Ladybug if given the chance. Instead, it came out as, “What kind of situation would make that happen for you?”

“And why are  _ you  _ kissing Ladybug?” Alya asked, hands on her hips. “You know I have dibs, first.”

“Yeah, Nino,” Marinette said. “She’s your girlfriend.”

“No! Dibs on Ladybug,” Alya said.

Marinette blinked at her for a moment, before leaning back in shock. “You want to kiss  _ Ladybug _ ?”

“I mean, I voted for her in the poll,” Alya said, shrugging.

“Alya!” Marinette nearly screeched. She heard chuckling in front of her. She had almost forgotten Adrien was right there with a front-row seat, watching all of this unfold. He caught her eye and did his best to calm his reaction.

“But Chat Noir,” Rose said, trying to recapture the dreamy sentiment. “Imagine being shackled together with a superhero - an unrequited love as you two pine for each other.”

“No! No one was pining! It’s  _ really  _ not like that,” Marinette re-emphasized.

“And you finally get to kiss,” Rose said.

“REALLY!” she said, loud enough for everyone to jolt back. “It’s not like that at all! We were stuck together, we talked, we broke the chain that was handcuffing us together, and then he left. To fight an akuma. It’s not like we’ve been pining for each other since we first met.”

“So, it wasn’t romantic?” Rose asked, suddenly sullen. Marinette felt taken aback by Rose’s crestfallen face. “Because you deserve the most romantic love story you can get!”

“Uh-I...well...it was... private,” she managed to say.

“Private?” Alix asked with sudden intrigue. She turned to Nathaniel. “I told you there was more to the video.”

“Private?” Kim asked, lifting his finger to his cheek in thought. “Like, you two got kinky?”

“Why does everyone keep--? No!” Marinette said, shooting up from her seat. “No! Like, it was a private moment.” She scowled at Alya, who had laughed at her reaction.

To her relief, Adrien came to her rescue. “I think she means ‘intimate like a candlelight dinner’.”

“Yes!” Marinette said, pointing enthusiastically at Adrien, before realizing that she was ruining any chances she had at ever having him as a boyfriend. “Except, no, not like a candlelight dinner, because that would be too romantic. It was just a conversation and then just a kiss. And really, I’d rather not talk about it anymore, because it was so totally nothing and there is nothing to talk about.” She sat back down and crossed her arms, trying not to let the dread wash over her.

“... two kisses,” Alix corrected. The others started talking over each other, trying to ask her more questions in their excitement, but Alya put her hands in the air.

“Leave the girl alone,” Alya said. “Let her have her moment without everyone jumping down her throat about it. I’m sure you guys would hate to have your first kiss with someone all over the news.”

Rose made a swooning sound. “Your first kiss! I didn’t even think of that.” Rose collapsed against Juleka, who kept the smaller girl upright.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Alix said, making her way to the door. The others muttered some form of agreement, but Alya still had to shoo away stragglers like Kim, who wanted more details - like if they used tongue. Marinette lowered her head and stared at the table again as the room cleared out.

The room got quieter. When she dared to look up again, she saw Alya and Nino were standing by the door. Alya gave her a brief nod before walking away, pulling Nino with her. Marinette looked quizzically at where her friend had disappeared. Then a voice spoke up beside her. “Did your phone charge?”

“Wagh!” Marinette jumped up, seeing Adrien standing to the side, messenger bag slung across his shoulder. “Oh, I uh,” she hadn’t even checked. She took her phone out of her bag and saw the symbol showed a two-thirds charge. She had more than enough to get her through the day. “Yeah, thank you,” she said, handing the charger back to him. The momentary silence between them as he put the power bank away made her squirm. “Fast charger…” she said.

“Seems like you had an eventful day yesterday,” he said, grinning at her.

Marinette looked to the side. Of course, he’d be asking. That was her luck, wasn’t it? “Yeah.”

He took a deep breath. “Is your arm okay?”

Her head snapped back to him. In all the commotion, no one seemed to notice that her arm was in a sling. No one except Adrien. “Y-yeah. The ladybugs healed it.”

He smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad.” He went silent. She was silent. They both stood there awkwardly, like kids in a school play waiting to be fed their lines. 

“It really wasn’t anything,” she insisted. “I don’t know him. I don’t even know why we were bonded like that.”

“Oh… okay,” he said. She couldn’t figure out why he looked a little disappointed about that.

“W-well, I just mean I don’t really know him that well,” she said. “You know, I mean, it was all just...so surprising!” she said, before she willed herself to stop talking.

“Oh,” he said. “That must have been quite an adventure though, right?”

She was taken aback. Of all the people who would try to get more details about what had happened, she didn’t expect it to be Adrien. She waved her hands in front of her, “Oh, you know, it’s...it was…” He looked at her expectantly. She crossed her arms, sulking a bit. “I mean... it worked out fine.”

“Being tied to a superhero can’t be easy,” he said. “But I bet if anyone could handle it, it would be you.”

Marinette looked at him for a moment, before smiling shyly. “You think that?”

“You’re so resourceful, Marinette. And sometimes it seems like you’re not afraid of anything.” He looked around the empty room, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry people are hounding you. I know what fame is like. People wanting to know every detail of what happened, no matter how small. Coming to their own conclusions and treating it as fact,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said, “I remember being pulled into a small bit of that once with you.” They smiled at each other.

He crossed his arms, looking hesitant. She looked at him curiously. Finally, he sighed and asked, “Was it... really just nothing to you?” he asked.

“What?”

“Well, I know you probably didn’t want to talk about it in front of people, but... I mean... the kiss?” She looked at him in surprise. He hurried to add, “I just mean, it’s your first kiss, and I would hate for a first kiss to not mean anything, right? And, you know...you deserve better than that.”

She imagined her face looked as pink as the wallpaper in her room. He looked at her earnestly. Was he really hoping that she would sit there and tell him about her first kiss? Would he really be that disappointed to think that it was wasted? She would have rather it be with him, sure, but that didn’t mean she had any desire to talk to him about it. Rather than just telling him outright that the question was inappropriate and none of his business, she looked at the boy she had long loved and spat out words. “Oh-uh-well-I, uh…” she cringed at the sound of her own voice. “I mean, what I’m trying to say is, you know, it was, uh... a first kiss.” She looked at him. He looked at her. She shrugged. “I mean, I really have nothing to compare it to!”

There was a smile working onto his face that he tried to hide. “If you need to compare it to something…” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I was just hoping ... I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” he finally landed on.

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Why was this happening? “I mean, it’s between me and him,” she said. Finally, she crossed her arms and tried to look offended. “I’m not going to go into detail as I wouldn’t want to break his trust, but it meant something to both of us. Ideally, though, I would want to keep the memory of what happened to myself.”

He was quiet for a moment. “The cat’s out of the bag already, don’t you think?”

Marinette looked at him curiously. She didn’t know if the pun was intentional, but it made her think of the superhero in question. In some ways, it felt good to talk about Chat Noir with Adrien. In other ways, she felt guilty - like she was doing just as Alya had suggested, trying to make him jealous. But he couldn’t get jealous. He was Adrien. He was just happy for her. She sighed, “Well, you can read all about it and more in the interview I’ll do for Alya.”

Adrien looked taken aback for a moment, then smiled. “It might help his ego a little if you don’t lean into the ‘it was nothing’ explanation,” he offered.

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. “Chat Noir doesn’t need my help to boost his ego,” she said. Adrien frowned a little at that. “Honestly? I’m not even sure how much I should say. I wasn’t expecting this to happen. I can’t even ask him if he’s okay with me talking about it when I told him I wouldn’t.” She crossed her arms and looked away. “I was so worried about myself, I didn’t think about him at all. Maybe I should just cancel the interview.”

“No!” Adrien said earnestly. She looked at him in surprise. “I mean, he’s a protector of Paris. He’d want you to be safe, I’m sure. If an interview is going to help you, I’m sure he’d want you to do it. I mean, why have a secret identity if you’re not going to take advantage of the perks?”

Marinette shook her head and frowned. “It’s not about secret identities. He’s still a boy who had his first kiss stolen from him because of an akuma. He trusted me. This was a moment between us, and I don’t want to breach that trust or his privacy just because a few people might bother me about it.”

Adrien looked a little taken aback. Then he smiled so warmly, she thought her legs would buckle. “You’re always so thoughtful, Marinette.”

She felt butterflies beating wildly in her stomach. For a moment, just a moment, she thought Adrien would pull her close and kiss her.

Then again, maybe she was just seeing kisses everywhere now that she had experienced a proper one.

The look on his face faded as he looked away and cleared his throat. “Well, you know, I’ve done a lot of preparation for interviews...part of being famous - my dad had me do training sessions. I can help you prepare, if you want?”

Marinette smiled. He looked so happy to think of some way to help. Help a friend. A friend like her. The smile faded a little. “Th-that’s okay. I think I know how to talk to Alya.”

“Yeah,” he said, stepping closer to her. “But you said you’re worried because there’s someone else involved. I can help you form your answers so you don’t step on sensitive subjects - things he might not want you to talk about while still keeping things interesting. That should help, right?” He took another delicate step closer.

Marinette stared at him for a moment in surprise. Then she reminded herself he was a friend, happy to help his good friend who was having a hard time. She forced herself to put the thoughts that were forming in her head to the side as she cleared her throat. “I... that would be… nery vice. I mean, very nice!” She took a step back. She needed to breathe. But she was still at her desk, and her foot hit her chair instead. Adrien grabbed her arm before she could fall backward, and pulled her toward him.

Marinette’s face heated up as she was pressed against him for just a moment. She leapt sideways, down the step, and nearly crashed into the teacher’s desk. “Oh, uh, you know, I should probably — I just remembered, I’m sure people are leaving me messages trying to see if I’m okay and Alya isn’t the only person I know who’d want an interview, so I’m sure my voicemail has some people waiting for me, and- yeah, thanks for the reminder! I should probably, you know, check my phone,” she made a big show of turning it on, “and answer some people. Plus, my parents have probably heard about this by now, and…” She paused for a second. She hadn’t even thought about how her father would react.

“Marinette?” Adrien asked, stepping delicately closer. “Are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”

“Yeaaah,” she managed, taking a deep breath. Surely, her parents would understand that she had no control over the situation. But she could remember being trapped in a tower of vines and thorns, and even though she never saw her father akumatized, she knew what he had done to Chat Noir the first time. She shook her head, jostling the thought away. She would just have to explain to her dad that the moment was a nice one, and he definitely did not break her heart this time. Things would be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Her father had no reason to worry.

“Marinette?” Adrien asked again. He was standing right next to her. A notification went off on her phone. She ignored it.

“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly. Another notification went off. “I should probably check my messages,” she backed away from him, turned, caught a breath before unlocking her phone. More notifications sounded.

Marinette did, in fact, have a few voicemails waiting for her, and she could guess who one of them was from as she read a text from Nadja Chamack to please call her back. She hardly expected her to have a desperate need for a babysitter that early in the week. Marinette cringed. She also had a few messages from numbers she didn’t recognize and texts from unsaved numbers from people who wanted to know more about her story.

Then the notifications started rolling in.

She stared at her phone as Instagram notifications popped up. Lists of people who liked her photos - all her photos. Lists of people who started following her. And comments upon comments on her photos. Marinette felt her face go pale as she opened up the app and scrolled through the notifications, catching words here and there directed squarely at how awful people thought she was. Her jaw dropped as she clicked into her direct messages. The trend continued in the longer, more personalized messages.

“Marinette?” Adrien said with concern. She didn’t even care that he had placed his hand on her shoulder. She wondered if she looked as sick as she felt.

She looked forward and raised a shaky hand to show her phone to the boy. “Oh…” he said, sounding grave.

“Looks like people found me…”


	8. Good Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this. I've started to lose my confidence in the story. Ironically, passing Chinese New Year vendors perked up my spirits. It was also hard figuring out what I wanted to do with this chapter since on the initial re-read, I wasn't happy with it. I tried to re-work it but ended up right back where I started when all was said and done, with just some extra flavor added in here and there. Anyways, without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

It wasn’t always easy to find a place of solace in school - somewhere where Adrien could talk to Plagg when he needed to. He went to his old standby, a bathroom stall. Letting Plagg out, he sighed. “It hasn’t even been half a day. How did things already get so messed up?”

Plagg put a paw to his head in thoughtfulness. “Well, let’s see. You joined in on all the gossip around something she didn’t want to talk about, you’re trying to get close to her when she just had a thing with what she thinks is another boy, you basically kissed her in front of the entire world, and you get to hide and she doesn’t, and people love you so much, they’re sending the girl you’re pursuing hate comments and death threats.” He crossed his arms and floated leisurely on his back. “See, this is why I don’t do love stuff.”

“I wanted to hear what she had to say!” he defended on the first part, “and I thought I could help! It’s not like I was flirting with her. I mean... I stopped before I did. That means something, right? But I guess it is a little weird, and now she’s being jumpy around me and she’s upset about everything happening. And, auuugh,” he put his fists to his forehead. “How am I supposed to help her right now when I make her so nervous?”

“Hey, at least you helped her lockdown her social media. That was thoughtful.” Adrien cringed. By that point, she had read through quite a few of the comments, pacing around the room. Her nerves were completely shot, and he had to coax the phone carefully out of her hand while she made him promise multiple times not to go into any of her other apps. It was like trying to gain the trust of a wounded stray. Even then, he had seen a few of the comments before he figured out how to shut down her Instagram temporarily. “She’ll probably never kiss me again after this, in either identity.” He hung his head and sighed. “I’ve cause her so much trouble.”

Plagg looked at him with sympathy. He thought for a moment. “So, how are  _ you  _ handling that kiss getting out?”

Adrien felt the blush forming on his cheek. He didn’t see the video until he had gotten to school. Nino showed it to him, then asked him how he felt - as though seeing Marinette kiss another boy would tear him apart. Maybe he  _ did  _ have a thing for Marinette that the Love Connector picked up on if his own best friend acted that way. “Well,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I wish it hadn’t. It really was a private moment. Now it’s out everywhere.” He crossed his arms. “I didn’t know there was a camera there. And why would someone just take the footage and post it? That was cruel.”

“Yeah, it sucks to be famous. Everyone wants a piece of you.”

“Maybe I could give an interview and say nothing happened,” Adrien said. “I could just tap on Alya’s window and tell her to talk to me instead.”

“You’ve never done that for any other victim interview, akumatized or not. Don’t you think it would be weird if you were suddenly interested in doing that for Marinette?”

“Not completely,” Adrien said, shrugging. “Chat Noir wouldn’t want people bothering her.”

“But wouldn’t you be calling attention to Marinette and drive more people her way?”

Adrien groaned in his hands. “What am I supposed to do, then? I can’t let her deal with this alone.”

Plagg shrugged. “Then don’t. Talk to her. But not about kissing, blegh. I’ve had it up to hear with hearing about it.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said, nodding. It was all he really could do. Be her friend. Then he sighed. “She wants to talk to Chat Noir. If it wouldn’t be so weird, I would transform now and take her away to talk.”

“Yeah, being kidnapped in the middle of the school day would make things a lot better for her.”

“But at least I have an excuse to check on her tonight, right? I mean, she seemed really worried about breaking Chat Noir’s trust. I can’t let her chicken out at the last minute.” He looked to Plagg, hoping he would agree with that assessment.

Plagg sighed. “That’s true. But be careful. And don’t be weird or stick your foot in your mouth.” Adrien frowned. “And it would really help things if you brought her a box of cheeses. Nah, that would be  _ too romantic _ . Might as well just buy it and not give it to her.”

“Very funny,” Adrien said as he opened his bag and let Plagg fly back inside. 

-=-=-=-=-

During science class, the buzz around Marinette from her own class had significantly calmed down. It gave her a chance to feel dejected in peace. Her cell phone sat heavy in her pocket, threatening to send a nuke of harassment back onto her at any moment.

Sure, some comments she had received were just people who were curious about her. Some had questions about what happened and what the experience was like. A few comments were just people stating what blog or video had sent them there. Some even had a few friendly things to say.

But she got a fair amount of ‘just kill yourself’ comments, and remarks picking apart her appearance, and a few calling her colorful words that she didn’t expect to be thrown at her at just sixteen years old. “Home-wrecker,” was the tamest one, and made no sense in context, but it still bothered her. Some people were making comments about her body, some picking apart her pictures or re-contextualizing them regarding the kiss, and some people were telling flat out lies about her. She could see at least a few accounts of people claiming to know her and know what she was like, and painting her in a negative light. There were nice comments, too, but it would only take one negative comment in a stream of positive ones to bring her down again.

And that was only what she had seen before Adrien convinced her to give him her phone. When Alya saw how awful she looked when she finally joined her for their next class, she also took Marinette’s phone and added some extra precautions, like setting up e-mail filters and showing her how to add her own filtered words when she needed them. All of that was difficult to do when her phone was going off every few minutes with someone else texting her. At first, it had been people she knew asking how she was doing, then people who had gotten her number from their neighbor’s lawyer’s sister’s boyfriend, or whatever excuse they used for how they found her number.

It all culminated with Marinette staring off into the distance, not really paying attention to anything happening in science class. Alya would nudge her whenever Miss Mendeleiev would walk by, so Marinette could look invested in their lab work. From the corner of her, she could see Nino and Adrien turning to look at her. Adrien had been so distracted that he added too much catalyst to the mixture they were working on, causing the concoction to overflow. Marinette didn’t think she ever saw Adrien lectured by any teacher, and there he was, silently nodding with his head down as Miss Mendeleiev made an example out of him in front of the entire class, because of her.

The wait for lunch was torture. All because she kissed Chat Noir when she wasn’t Ladybug. People would have been celebrating if that had been the case. Instead, she wasn’t good enough for Chat Noir. She was getting in the way. She was a hussy who was stealing someone else’s happily ever after, and she should just ‘die already’.

Marinette huffed at that memory and threw her pencil down in frustration. Alya quickly grabbed the pencil and smiled at Miss Mendeleiev when she turned around at the noise. “Sorry, it slipped,” she said.

Marinette shifted in her seat, looking apologetically over to Alya, but she just handed the pencil back to Marinette and smiled kindly to her.

She hated to think about what the akumatized victims went through. She’d seen some give interviews on the event, but more and more lately, it seemed the only ones interviewed were in some way more interesting than previous ones - celebrities, powerful akumas, interesting stories to be told. What were they thinking with bothering her? What questions would people have for her? She and Chat Noir had saved people plenty of times before. Chloe had even been kissed by a zombizoued Chat Noir - a thought that turned Marinette’s stomach and hoped turned the hero’s stomach as well. Sure, that wasn’t on video, and as far as she knew, not on the lips, but the point still stood - Parisians lived crazy lives because of the akuma attacks. Did people care more because it was Chat Noir’s potential love interest? Because it wasn’t Ladybug?

People needed to calm down...

She thought for a moment, trying to take solace in the fact that everyone who was harassing her was mad at Ladybug kissing Chat Noir, and how stupid they would feel if they knew. But that didn’t stop her from sinking into her chair and waiting for the world to swallow her up.

Alya touched her arm. Marinette looked up to the girl, who smiled at her. She gave a small smile back. Her friends were looking out for her, at least. That thought eased some tension. Just some.

-=-=-=-=-=-

“Remember,” Alya said, “I do the talking. If anyone asks, you just sit pretty.” They were walking down the stairs. Marinette had considered going home for lunch. Alya even encouraged it. She even asked the opinion of their friends who came to check in on her after class. They agreed Marinette would probably feel safer at home. But the thought that her parents might take the chance to sit her down and have a nice, long talk with her made her more nervous than the prospect of random kids asking her prying questions.

Marinette could feel eyes on her as she walked down the stairs. Her own classmates watched her with more concern than anything. Her non-classmates seemed all too interested in her.

The two girls had barely even set their feet on the ground floor when the first nosey person come up to her, urged forward by her whispering friends. “You’re the girl from that video, right?”

“We’re going to lunch,” Alya said pointedly as she put a protective arm around Marinette. She steered her past the girl and took a step forward before someone else got in their way.

“So, are you Chat Noir’s girlfriend or something?” asked the person.

Marinette would have said something, but Alya put up a finger to quiet her, lest Marinette got flustered and made things worse.

“She just got caught in an akuma attack. She has nothing to say about any superheroes and she just wants lunch.” Alya spun Marinette around, trying to go back where they came from, but they both widened their eyes when two students who didn’t seem to understand personal space came far too close for comfort.

“So, is it true that the bond made you kiss him? Or did you have to kiss him? Cause there’s a difference,” asked one.

“What else did you guys do?” the other student asked.

Alya spun Marinette around. “Bunch of nosey--!” Both girls went still as a small group of students, emboldened by the other nosey students, penned them in.

“Did he do it to make Ladybug jealous?”

“My older sister said that she thinks you’re a slut, but she told me not to tell you because you already know that.” 

“Excuse me?” Marinette said, her nervousness replaced by anger. But Alya put an arm in front of her as more people came around - to watch the spectacle, to ask their own questions, or just out of perverse curiosity.

“Hey, can you give me Chat Noir’s phone number?”

“You’re not even that pretty, what does he see in you?”

“Do you know who he is? What’s he like behind the eyes?”

“Wow, you’re really pretty! No wonder he kissed you!”

“So, does he have a thing for pigtails? I should wear pigtails.”

“WHOA!” Alya said as they were backed up against a post. “Get BACK, you vultures!” 

Marinette whispered, “I don’t think that will help, Alya!”

The other girl straightened her shirt, before proclaiming loudly, “If you have questions, just send them to the Ladyblog, and  _ maybe  _ if you don’t come off as rude, I can post an interview. But if I get ONE nasty comment directed at my girl, I’m shutting it down!”

Though Alya meant well, it seemed everyone in the courtyard was paying attention now. More eyes turned to watch the spectacle. More people wandered over to see what was going on. They suddenly found themselves surrounded. Any anger that Marinette had felt turned into fear.

“Yeah, but,” one girl said, “what does this mean for our superheroes?” The group of people threw out comments again, one girl even going so far as to start crying, saying that Marinette was ‘getting in the way of the true love.’ She knew she and Chat Noir were popular with the citizens of Paris; she didn’t realize they had become so possessive of them.

As the questions grew, Marinette looked around for help. She could see Alix, Juleka, and Rose, watching from the stairs, but unable to get closer. Mylene was on Ivan’s shoulders, partially reaching out as though she could somehow pull Marinette out of the situation, but she was too far. Eyes watched from everywhere as the excitement of being able to ask “that girl from the video” questions.

A hand grabbed Marinette, and she was ready to throw this person off her when she spun around. Adrien. They made eye contact for a moment before a sly smile crept across his mouth. Marinette clutched onto Alya’s arm. He pulled back, and they were yanked, forcefully, through the crowd of people.

Marinette landed on top of Adrien, and she had only a moment to contemplate whether she should jump up in shock and apologize, before Alya crashed on top of the two as well. Alya scrambled to her feet, and suddenly Marinette was lifted up by Kim and Max. They had created a line to snake through the crowd and pull her out, which explained how Adrien pulled them both out with so much force. Nino grabbed Alya’s hand. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

Before Marinette could consider that, the attention from the students shifted to where she had moved to. Adrien was back on his feet, grabbed her hand, and yelled, “Come on!” before pulling her forward towards the door.

Marinette didn’t question when the boy of her dreams had her by the hand and led her to safety - she just followed orders. As they raced outside, she heard an authoritative voice boom behind them, “What is the meaning of this? This is a school, not a zoo!” She looked back to see most of the people in the crowd scattering away as Principal Damacles walked down the stairs, calling names of students that he threatened to give detention to.

The horror of being surrounded slowly dissipated as Adrien led her past his confused bodyguard, still holding the door open for the teen. They raced across the street and straight to the bakery doors. He looked back at her, smiling. “Think your parents would mind if we drop in for lunch?”

“N-no, they won’t mind,” she said. Having a sudden guest for lunch might save her from the dreaded lecture.

They raced into the bakery where her mother startled at their sudden appearance, but Adrien didn’t stop, heading to the door that led to her apartment stairs. Marinette gave a quick wave. “Hi, mom! Coming in for lunch. No time to explain. Bye, mom!” They went through the doors and up one flight of stairs, up the next, and finally through the doors of her apartment. They closed the door behind them and collapsed against it to catch their breath.

Adrien was the first to laugh. Marinette looked at him in surprise before she laughed too. His laugh was contagious, she thought, as the two crumpled against the door and ended up on the floor. Some of the tension she had been feeling lifted. After a moment, Marinette caught her breath. “My mom must be so confused right now.”

“We can go downstairs and explain it to her,” he offered.

“Nah,” she said. “They’ve been busy with orders. Besides, I think I’m done with people asking me things for the foreseeable future.” She turned to look at Adrien. “Thank you for saving me. Uh, and Alya,” she added quickly. She hadn’t even seen where the girl had gone.

He gave her a warm smile in return. “Well, it was all of us. I never would have been able to pull you away by myself. And either way, I know you’d do the same for me. Well,  _ have  _ done the same for me.”

Marinette smiled gently to him. But she was still worried about where Alya had gone once she lost track of her. “I should check on her,” Marinette said, opening up her phone, and suddenly remembering why that was a bad idea. She must have made a face, because Adrien delicately put his fingers on her phone. She looked up in surprise.

“I can text her,” he offered. “Maybe...just for peace of mind, we can put your phone away for a bit? I promise I won’t look at it.” Marinette swallowed hard, before allowing him to take the phone away.

They looked at each other for a moment, the tension in Marinette lifting, as the crazy world around them was suddenly less noisy, much calmer. Alone in the apartment together, they took a moment to catch their breath.

-=--=-=-

Adrien watched as Marinette took stock of what they had in the fridge. Neither of them had expected to eat lunch at her house. He had just gotten off the phone with his bodyguard, after having gotten off the phone with Nathalie assuring her it was a one-time thing and his bodyguard was nearby. His father must have been in a good mood that day because he didn’t demand Adrien to come home straight away. He did, however, get roped into another modeling session for the summer line. He inwardly sighed as he pulled his phone away. The text message he had received cheered him up. It was a picture Alya sent with her and Nino sitting on the grass with some lunch they grabbed from a store nearby.

“Alya is fine,” Adrien said. His phone beeped again. “She wants me to take care of you.” It beeped again. “And tell you not to go back to class without her.” It beeped again. It read, ‘no funny business with my girl, alright?’ Adrien stared at his phone, raising an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean?

“What did she say?”

“Oh, uh, just... sent a picture of their lunch. Seems nice,” he said, putting his phone away.

Marinette smiled over to him, holding on to the open refrigerator door. “Do you do leftovers?” 

“Do I ‘do’ leftovers?”

“Well, I mean, you probably always have someone to make you a fresh meal, right? No microwaved or reheated food?”

Adrien smiled. “I can ‘do’ leftovers. I don’t mind. I find that company is the best part of any meal.”

Marinette seemed to get a little flustered at the comment, but smiled anyway. Again with making her uncomfortable. What was he doing wrong? If he really thought about it, he didn’t think she stammered once when talking to him as Chat Noir. Well, maybe once or twice. Why did he so rarely get to see that side of her as Adrien?

“Do you like Chinese food?” she asked.

“I almost never get to have it,” he said, trying to hide his excitement. She seemed to catch on, though, and smiled.

“My mom’s been making a bunch of dishes for the Spring Festival. Usually, my dad does most of the cooking, but now’s about the time mom tries to perfect recipes for when we have family over. I think she might have even made my great uncle’s soup... Ah, no, looks like we finished that last night. But we have soup!” She pulled out a few items, taking out a pan and a few dishes to place in the microwave.

“You call it the Spring Festival,” he said matter-of-factly. Ladybug had called it that. He had almost forgotten how interesting he found it that Marinette had said when they were talking on the storage floor. It was only the second time he actually heard anyone call Chinese New Year that outside of his classes. He tried to contain his excitement at this small insight.

“Yeah, my mom’s family is from China,” she said. “That’s what they call Chinese New Year. It’s just a habit, I guess. It’s kind of a huge deal there. We’re hosting some of my relatives this year, so the bakery is leaning into the celebration.” She went back to the refrigerator and looked for some more items to heat up. “I don’t think my parents were prepared for how many people would want to order. I think they may have just stumbled onto a cash cow. Well, if they don’t lose their minds first.”

Adrien, to his credit, had been listening to Marinette. He heard every word; he could recite back everything she had said. But his mind had also wandered to picturing Marinette wearing a Chinese dress for the New Year. So when she turned around, and he was staring at her, he knew it probably looked bad on his part. Marinette looked at him in surprise. “Sorry!” he said quickly. “I heard you! It’s just…” He looked away, blushing slightly. “I guess I was just wondering how you would look in a qipao.”

Marinette’s cheeks went pink. “Uh, my dad thinks I’m too young to wear one.” Marinette winced. “He thinks it’s too form-fitting.”

That genuinely surprised Adrien. A small thought in the back of his head wondered what her dad would think if she was indeed Ladybug, running around in a skin-tight suit. “What does your mom say about that?”

“Oh, it’s one of the things they fight about, occasionally,” she said, turning to stir the soup. “My mom thinks I’d look cute in one.” He could already smell the food as it heated up. He didn’t realize how hungry he was. 

“What do you think about it?” he asked as Marinette brought over a pitcher of water and a glass for him.

“Oh,” she said, nearly dropping the jug before placing it down without breaking it. She smoothed her hands over her clothing. “I don’t mind either way. I almost never get to do anything cultural. My parents raised me French, so all the Chinese stuff is a nice bonus, but not the most important part of my life.” She shrugged. “Sometimes I wish my mom would lean into it more. Lunar New Year is always so nice. You get to see family, my aunt makes these really pretty floral arrangements with blooming tree branches, the food is always great, and best of all,” she raised an eyebrow, smiling, “I get money.”

Adrien laughed. He took a long swig of the water as she went back to heating the food. “What do you do with the money?”

“My dad makes me save most of it,” she said with a frown, “But this year, I plan to stock up on fabrics. I... kind of lost mine during the akuma attack.” She turned to see him looking at her curiously. She shifted uncomfortably. “I was fabric shopping,” she explained. “That’s why I was even there to begin with. Lost a really pretty fabric that way.”

An awkward silence fell in the room. He knew he had to address it, eventually. “Listen... I wanted to apologize for earlier,” he said. Marinette turned around, mid-stir of noodle soup. “I made you uncomfortable. I should’ve seen that you didn’t want to talk about it. I’m not always the best at reading situations. It’s not every day someone gets to kiss a superhero. I was just curious!”

“R-right,” Marinette said. He made her feel uneasy again. Great.

“Well, I mean, isn’t it lucky?” he asked. “He’s apparently the sexiest superhero in Paris.” Marinette froze, looking surprised. He knew he shouldn’t push it, he knew it... but he had to say it, and gauge her reaction. “I mean, personally, if I saw the poll, I would have picked Ladybug.”

Marinette went as red as ladybug’s suit. He watched her reaction change from what he thought might be embarrassment, to bemusement, to nervous laughter. This had to mean something. This had to be some sort of proof. “I mean,” she said, her voice high, “apparently even Alya voted for Ladybug, so I guess she’s popular, right?”

He tried to hide his amusement at her reaction. “Who would you have voted for?” he asked.

“I actually  _ did  _ vote,” Marinette said, turning around when the microwave beeped. She took out the food, placed it to the side before putting in another plate of leftovers. He waited for her to answer. But when she didn’t, he knew he had to pry.

“And that person was…?” Marinette became very interested in stirring her soup. Adrien was more amused than he should have been at her silence. “Should I guess?”

“No,” Marinette chirped, setting the ladle aside and turning around. “Okay, first of all, you have to understand my reasoning.”

“Your reasoning?”

“Yes,” Marinette said as she walked forward, determined. “First, let’s just say that the other superheroes remind me of people I know, and I can’t find certain people that I know sexy like that.”

“Okay,” he said, the intensity of her response catching him off guard.

“Secondly, most people can’t pull off that type of look.”

“What look? Skintight clothing?” Marinette seemed even more flustered. Adrien put a hand over his mouth to hide the growing smile. “Leather and a bell?”

She buried her face in her hand. Adrien couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure he’d be very flattered!”

She popped her head back up and gave the most adorable pout. “You can’t tell that to  _ anyone _ ! I was just trying to be practical!”

“You could have lied about who you chose,” he said, unable to wipe the grin off his face. “It’s not a test.”

“Sure,” she said, then used her hands to gesture in front of her like she could see everything she was saying as she said it. “But if I lied, then people might ask me why I chose, say, Ladybug. And then I would have to give a reason on the spot which would probably end up being, ‘I like polka dots’, but that isn’t exactly a sexy reason to like someone. And I can’t exactly say it’s because of their suits, because they all wear suits. So you have to go with personality, and if they all remind me of someone I know and I’m not attracted to them, then how can I say that as an excuse?”

“I’m sure you can think on your feet,” he said.

“Well, yeah,” she said. “But if I  _ had  _ to lie to you about something, this didn’t feel worth the energy.” She cringed. The microwave beeped. “I’m, uh, gonna get the food now.” She seemed a little down as she plated the food.

“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” he said. “But I think your reasoning is sound.” Adrien got up and walked over to her. “Can I help?”

A dumpling went flying into the air as she gave a strangled yelp. It fell between them on the floor. They both stared at it for a second, before Adrien looked up at her. “Maybe I should carry the soup.”

“Yeah, that might be best,” she said, defeated. He smiled apologetically as he grabbed the soup bowls and she picked up the fallen dumpling.

The spread of food she had warmed was diverse and impressive. Slices of roasted duck, noodle soup with seafood, various types of dumplings, stir-fried vegetables, and fried egg rolls. She handed him some chopsticks and a soup spoon and they dug in. Adrien melted at the taste. Everything was so different from what he usually ate - high-class French cuisine, which in its own right was great, but he was missing variety. This was so different from his usual fare, he almost felt like he should have gotten the okay from his father to partake in it.

“It’s probably too much,” Marinette said sheepishly.

“No, not at all,” he said. He reached over with his chopsticks and grabbed a dumpling from a plate near Marinette. “This way, I don’t have to feel guilty about eating the last one.”

“You’re my guest,” Marinette said, pushing the plate closer to him as he dipped the dumpling in sauce. “You’re allowed to eat the last one. Encouraged, even. I have more.”

He looked up to her and smiled. Then took another dumpling. Marinette looked sheepishly down at her soup and dug in. The meal passed easily, with occasional small talk and only a few moments where it seemed he made her squeamish. His mind drifted to the thought that maybe, just maybe, he was eating lunch with Ladybug right now. It filled him with a warm feeling not comparable to anything else he had ever experienced. To think, all those times asking her out to see a movie, go on a date, get something to eat, he had already experienced that with his lady. She might have gone to his first concert with him, helped him escape to the movies, kept him company on a photoshoot. He didn’t want to give his hopes up. He was happy to have those moments with Marinette. She was enough. But if two of the most important people in his life were actually the same person, then there would be no end to his happiness.

Adrien tried to put those thoughts to the side. He was here for Marinette right now. Her life had just been turned upside down. She may have seemed her normal self in her home with him to distract her, but he knew she couldn’t have been feeling too well. School was looming just ahead of them, and he could only keep her away from her cell phone for so long.

He placed his chopsticks down, never happier with a meal in his life. “That was amazing,” he said. “Your mom is a great cook! Thank you for sharing the meal with me. It was really nice.” Marinette smiled shyly. “So, your interview.”

Marinette protested. “That’s not necessary, really! You’ve already done so much for me today.”

Adrien gave her a serious look. “But how will you handle it if Alya asks you who you voted for in her poll?”

He had meant it as a joke, but she made a face all the same. “Oh, yeah, she  _ would  _ ask me that, too.”

He tried not to laugh. “We’re all here to help you, Marinette. You don’t have to do this alone. And I want to make sure I do my part for you. Plus, I can make up for prying a little too much into what happened. Please, let me do this for you?” He looked to her, hopeful she would accept.

Marinette’s bluebell eyes shimmered with some unknown emotion as she looked at him. Then she smiled. “I’d like that.”


	9. Maintenant Embrasse

The rest of the school day, everyone in class, aside from Chloe and Sabrina, seemed intent on protecting Marinette. The swarm of students at lunch shocked everyone, and true to their class’ nature, they were always happy to help a student in need - especially Marinette, who had done so much for everyone.

When a student leaned into view just outside their door to try to get a picture, Nino and Adrien leaned back as though to talk to the girls, blocking the photographer’s view. When someone came up to Marinette in the locker room, with what looked like a Chat Noir action figure and a sharpie, Alix took it and tossed it out of the room as though it were trash. And when walking through the courtyard, Ivan stood tall and towered over Marinette, glowering at anyone who dared come near her.

She knew the attention wouldn’t last long, but she was glad to see what it brought out in her classmates. Even if they were overly nosey in the beginning, things seemed to calm down once they saw she needed them. It made her monumentally happy to see her classmates being so kind.

She’d have to make them macarons as a thank you.

All of that, however, did not prepare her for her parents.

After the bakery closed, her mother and father asked to speak with her in the living room. Marinette sat stiffly on the couch as they sat with concerned faces and hands clenched in their laps. “So, sweetie,” her mother started. “We wanted to talk to you about the video I’m sure you know about.”

Marinette immediately waved her hands in front of her. “Really, it’s nothing, I swear. There was a villain downtown. I was so caught up in thinking about making my dress, I walked right into a fight. Chat Noir was there, and the villain hit us with his power, and we... worked together to break it so he could go do his thing. That’s all!”

“I understand that,” her father said, “but this boy broke your heart before. And now you’re kissing him in a rather intimate setting? I know you have no control over akumas but I don’t like what I saw, and I don’t want that boy to go breaking your heart again.”

“That boy,” Marinette said, “needed to save Paris! It’s his job! And it was some dusty old storage room - that’s hardly an intimate setting.” Here was the part she didn’t want to have to say. It made her internally cringe. But she figured she would have to use it at some point. “And it’s my fault he got chained to me in the first place. The akuma was linking people who had unrequited love. And... yeah.” She looked down, trying to look mournful, hoping her parents could put two and two together without her having to fill in the blanks. Maybe she could play the sad, slightly heartbroken, but resilient daughter and she could go back to her room where Longg had been trying to show Marinette how to meditate.

“And that’s the problem,” her father said. “Now it’s got you thinking about him again. Even though you know that he’s in love with someone else. I don’t want to see you hurt again. A father shouldn’t have to see his daughter with a broken heart.” Marinette tried to reel back the ‘heartbroken,’ look.

“Now, Tom,” her mother said, holding his hand. “It’s bound to happen eventually. Marinette is growing up and has so much living to do. Heartache is a part of life!” She turned to Marinette. “I’m more concerned about how you came running in here with Adrien earlier today?”

Marinette blinked. She hadn’t expected that. She felt her cheeks get red, the familiar flustered sensation coming over her. “Oh, uh, you know,” she said. “I thought it’d be nice to have lunch at home! With a friend!” She didn’t want to scare her parents about how she was surrounded by a mob at school.

“Marinette,” her father said. “You go from kissing one boy to bringing home another. I know the first situation is... complicated, but bringing another boy into the mix has us worried. I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’d regret because you’re on the rebound.”

Marinette lifted an eyebrow. “Uh...rebound? From kissing Chat Noir?” She laughed, shaking her head. “I’m not on the rebound, dad. Adrien was helping me get away from classmates who were asking me too many questions.”

Her mother seemed concerned but didn’t pry into her statement. “But you like this boy, don’t you?”

“Mom!” she said, blushing deep red.

“I know you feel a little embarrassed talking about boys to your parents,” she said quickly. “But we want you to know we’re here for you if you need to talk. I know you’re pretty mature for your age and mostly level headed about most things, but first loves and crushes can be confusing even without what happened yesterday. You might feel confused…”

“I’m not, really,” Marinette said.

“...And you might want to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Marinette assured her.

“And your father and I want you to talk to us if things get confusing. We’re always here for you, sweetie.”

Marinette let out a breath. “I know, mom, dad. Thank you.”

“Whether you need to talk about kissing or relationships or…” Her mother glanced to her father before saying, “sex.”

“Oh, my go--MOM!” Marinette yelled, burying her face in her hands. “We do NOT need to have that talk  _ again _ .” She remembered the first time her mom approached her to talk about sex. She was eleven and playing with her Ken and Barbie dolls. She had made them get married and go on a honeymoon. Back then, she thought it was just a fancy vacation you went on to celebrate getting married. Maybe that scared her parents into thinking they needed to immediately educate her on the subject. She remembered sitting there, eyes wide, having had no idea that the parts of both genders came with extra features.

She never looked at those two dolls the same again.

“Well, I’m just saying…” her mother said.

“Oh, my God!” She pulled up two pillows and put them on either side of her head. “Mom, I promise, if I am ever at a point where I want to talk to you about that, I will reach out to you. But not now, PLEASE.”

Her parents gave each other a look before Sabine finally conceded.

“Now,” Tom said, folding his arms, seeming equally eager to change the subject. “What are we going to do about the fangirls coming around asking for you?”

Marinette removed the pillows to make sure she heard correctly. “...I’m sorry, what?”

~~~

Chat Noir stood on the top of the buildings around sundown, practicing to himself what he was going to say. From trying a casual approach (Hey! What’s up? Oh, me? I was just passing by and saw your light was on and—no, that’s stalkerish), to waiting until she came out of her own accord (Whoa! Hey! It’s great to see you! Oh, this is your house? I completely forgot!), to just being honest (Hi, Marinette! You know, I saw the news about us kissing and all and thought you might be having a hard time with other people seeing the video where we, you know... kissed.). Once he got all the weird and awkward approaches out of his system, he practiced how he would talk to her, and nodded to himself in affirmation. This wasn’t weird. He was just concerned. How else would he get in touch with her as Chat Noir? Especially when Adrien seemed to be failing miserably.

After taking a few deep breaths, he hopped his way across the tops of buildings to Marinette’s patio. His mind lit up with memories. Here was where Marinette threw herself at him and hugged him, confessing her love for him. It had felt nice being loved. It was just the wrong girl. But now, he had to wonder. If she was, in fact, Ladybug, and Ladybug had clearly said that she was in love with another boy, why would Marinette say such a thing?

Replaying the moment in his head, he remembered hopping up to get the “gummy” for baby August. And instead of finding Ladybug, he found Marinette. Was it weird that Marinette never mentioned seeing Ladybug pass right over her head? He thought she was a fan, following them around to get a glimpse of them. And if that were true, it would explain a lot. But no, she clearly said she was in love with him.

...unless she was trying to hide the fact that she was Ladybug. 

He had completely forgotten his train of thought when she threw herself at him. And Marinette could be weird at times, but she didn’t seem the type to throw herself at people. Crash into them, yes - she had done that to Adrien many times. He hated to admit he kind of liked it when she did that... well, not when it hurt. But sometimes he thought he wouldn’t mind if Marinette clung onto his arm the way Chloe did. He had naturally assumed her throwing herself at him was all part of the love thing. Now he wasn’t so sure.

His head felt like it would crack open. He tried to quell the need for answers. He tried not to think about how Ladybug was smart and could figure her way out of a high-security prison with nothing more than a thumbtack for a lucky charm. That brilliant mind of hers was part of the reason he loved her so much, and the more he pulled apart the web in his mind that connected the two to one another, the more tangled his thoughts got.

But Plagg was right. Ladybug had said so herself: he was a simple boy. If he could ease his guilt of having feelings for two girls at the same time by convincing himself that Marinette and Ladybug were the same person, things would be so much simpler. He needed his theory to be true. And because of that, he couldn’t fully trust himself.

“Okay,” he whispered, trying to straighten his mind before he went back to the original reason he was there. Even though his mind was trying to point out, in glaring letters, that while he tried to go through the front doors when Troublemaker was attacking the bakery, it was Ladybug who pulled him up to the very chaise lounge he was looking at right at that moment. And Marinette was nowhere to be seen.

But he saw her as Multimouse... right next to Ladybug.

Chat Noir shook his head and went to knock on the hatch door, his mind screaming at him how Ladybug sent him on a mission to protect Marinette from Evillustrator while being nowhere to be found herself. He tucked that loose thought back into his burning mind.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and quiet his mind. Then he knocked on the hatch door. Standing back, he tried his to look nonchalant leaning against the railing.

Marinette opened up the door cautiously before her eyes caught Chat Noir’s. She froze for a moment, her face flushing pink when he smiled back at her. Part of him wondered if she would just shut the hatch, and he’ll just have left a horrible impression on her.

“Chat Noir?” she asked, pushing the hatch fully open and climbing out. He tried not to show his relief that she didn’t simply run away.

“I know this is a little... unorthodox,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Bad idea, bad idea, this was a bad idea. “I just... wanted to see how you were doing.”

Marinette cringed. “You saw the video, too.”

“Uh, who didn’t?” he asked. She winced at that. “Oh, I’m sure not everyone saw it!” he added quickly. “I just...you know, I figured it might have come up during your day a bit?”

“Well,” she said, looking to the side. “You know, it actually ruled my day. People...they really like you. And they don’t really like me.”

Chat Noir lowered his shoulders a bit. “I’m sorry about that, Marinette. I had no idea there were cameras there. I never would have brought you there if I knew that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Marinette assured him. “I just wish this could have happened any other way.”

Chat Noir looked down sadly. “It’s probably not the way you envisioned your first kiss going at all. I ruined it for you.”

“The kiss itself was....really nice,” she assured him. He smiled a little bit. Sure, he asked as Adrien, but that had been awkward and completely inappropriate. He tried not to cringe outwardly as he did inwardly. He let his excitement blur the lines that should have been left in focus. “I mean...the situation was weird, everything afterward is weird. And I could probably do without the angry girls my parents had to kick out of the bakery today.”

“Wait, what?” he said, jumping up from his spot.

“Yeah,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her and raising her brow. “You have a very angry fan club. My parents threatened to call the police on them.”

“Marinette, I am so sorry,” he said, reaching out towards her as though that could take everything back. “And...also surprised. I always thought people liked Ladybug more than me.”

“While Ladybug IS incredible,” she said, making his stomach clench, “it doesn’t make you any less incredible.” He smiled.

“You’re handling this a lot better than I would have in your shoes,” he said. He wasn’t sure about that - he was used to crazed fans, but not often accosted by them. “But I still wish there was something I could do for you.”

Marinette squirmed as she looked to the side. He remembered the reason why it was so important they talked that night. She wanted to ask him, he knew she did. Maybe she didn’t feel comfortable because it was a lot to ask. So he gave her an opening. Walking up to Marinette, he leaned in close to draw her attention up to him. “Maybe...there’s something I can do for a fur-end?”

She raised an eyebrow, before taking a step back. Maybe she thought he wanted to kiss her again. Which he did. But not like this. He backed up. “Sorry!” he said quickly. “It’s just, you seemed to have something in mind. I’ll help you in any way I can. I really mean it.”

She nodded, smiling gently. “It’s okay, ki--Chat Noir,” she said. Embers crackled in his brain. “It’s just...my friend runs the Ladyblog. And she offered to report my side of the story to try and get everyone off my back. She also got the same video from whoever sent it - the entire time we were there together.”

“There’s more?” he asked, feeling the pit of his stomach drop out.

“I haven’t seen it yet,” she said, “but she assures me there’s no sound. So she wants to post the entire thing along with the interview - showing we have nothing to hide and have my say. But it’s not just my say. It’s your say, too. And I don’t want to go blabbing my mouth about a matter that involves, well...us.”

Of course, he already knew that Marinette was thinking about him over her own self. But hearing her say it with such a tenderness to him caused a warm feeling to wash over him. He chuckled slightly. “You’ve probably had the worst day today with people hounding you for information, and the one thing you can do to make it better, you might not because of me?” He put a hand on her shoulder. “I deal with cat-astrophe’s every week. I can handle a little gossip about me.”

“It’s not just about gossip,” Marinette clarified. “I get my words twisted sometimes. I might say something to make things worse for you. It just seemed like something I shouldn’t do without talking to you first.”

“What do you think she would ask about me that would cause me problems?”

“I mean, there’s nothing I can really tell about your life,” she said. “But you said so yourself, being a superhero asks a lot of you. It was hard for me to deal with the extra attention for a day. It took your moment, too, and made a spectacle of it. If you...think of it as a moment. And I don’t want to give away something that is yours, too...you know?”

Chat Noir leaned back against the wall, holding his hand to his heart. He let out a sigh of admiration. “So considerate.”

“Wha-are you making fun of me?” she asked, bewildered.

He laughed. “No. I really mean it. That’s so…” he let out a wistful sigh. He would hug her and never let go if he followed through with how he was feeling. “You’re worried about how I would feel. I have days go by where it feels like no one is worried about how I feel about anything.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” she said, crossing her arms. Chat Noir gave her a warm smile in response. She shifted on her feet as she looked away. If Chat Noir allowed himself to look closer at her reactions, he might think she was starting to act a little more shy as she did around Adrien. But he wasn’t sure what changed.

He straightened up and faced her. “Marinette, I don’t mind what you say about it. Be as honest as you need to be. I trust you to know where the limit is. And you’re not the one who is trying to take this moment away from me. It’s everyone else who is curious. I’d never fault you for doing what you need to so you can stay safe. Really, I can’t fault them, either. I’m sure if Ladybug was caught on camera kissing a citizen, I would want as many details as possible. Though...probably for different reasons.”

Marinette’s brows furrowed, but she smiled anyway. “Okay. Thank you.” There was a beat, the two stood there, looking to one another, wondering what to do next. He didn’t just want to act like everything was okay now, he could leave, good deed for the day done, disaster averted. It certainly hadn’t been. But he also didn’t want to overstay his welcome. His welcome was extremely conditional as it was. He wasn’t invited there, and he certainly couldn’t stay. No matter how much he wished he could talk to her a little longer.

“Well,” he said, taking a step back. “I should probably--”

“Do you want to come inside?” Marinette blurted out.

“What?”

“What?” Marinette seemed genuinely surprised at the words that came out of her own mouth.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you more trouble.”

“Oh, no, it will be bline-er,sublime. I mean, fine!” Chat Noir cocked his head to the side at Marinette’s sudden stammering. Curious… she laughed nervously to herself, before opening up the hatch.

Chat Noir’s eyes widened. She was actually inviting him into her room. He took a step forward. “WAIT!” she said so loud, sleeping pigeons nearby flew away in a panic. “Uh, it’s a mess. Let me go..clean up a little bit first.” She laughed nervously, hopped into the hatch, and closed it behind her.

Chat Noir walked over to the railing, staring at where Marinette had just left, wondering what switch he pushed to make Marinette as nervous with Chat Noir as she was around Adrien.

~~~

Marinette raced around her room, taking down photos of Adrien. She was also suddenly aware that Chat Noir had seen the massive collection of photos before when they were fighting an akumatized villain in their room. Why, why, why, WHY did she invite him into her room?

Longg, whose meditation session was interrupted by Chat Noir, was following Tikki’s example as she zipped around the room, grabbing pictures of Adrien. Tikki gave her a stern face, seemingly asking the same question Marinette had asked herself. “I don’t know!” Marinette answered as softly as possible, grabbing pictures. “I just didn’t want him to leave. I don’t know. What’s wrong with me, Tikki?”

“Your heart is nervous to want what it wants,” she said with a shrug.

She glared at Tikki. “Do NOT suggest I’m falling for Chat Noir. That is NOT what’s happening.”

“You know,” Longg said as he dumped pictures of Adrien in front of the frantic girl. “There is a long history of pairings between miraculous holders. It wouldn’t be odd--”

“Less talking, more grabbing!” she said as she looked around to make sure no surprises were hiding in plain sight. Her collection had been largely paired down in her efforts to get over Adrien, but it was still far more photos than any normal person would have of a friend. She stuffed them all into the chest that had years worth of presents for Adrien still in them. She wasn’t ready to get rid of them yet. Tikki came over with her own small armful of pictures and dumped them inside. Longg tossed in a framed picture of Adrien, and Marinette almost yelled in horror, catching it so it wouldn’t break.

After taking a deep breath, she scanned the room for any more items she may have that would give away her crush. With a sigh of relief, she turned back to the bed. Tikki flew in front of her, tiny hands on her sides, giving Marinette a look. “What?”

“You’re not just Marinette to him,” she said. “You’re also Ladybug.” 

“Y-yeah…” Marinette said, looking around. Her diary box was closed shut. She had put away the little black cat toy she bought for New York. Chat Noir was curious, but he wasn’t one to just go rummaging through people’s things. “I’m pretty sure I have everything.”

Longg flew up next to Tikki, and they both shared the same look. It took longer than Marinette would like to admit to figure out why they were looking at her like that. “The miracle box!” she whispered in horror. She spun around, grabbing the dragon miraculous and put it back in the case. Longg stopped her before she closed it. “Remember,” he said. “Deep breaths, picture yourself as a tiny frog on a lily pad. Calm thoughts. We don’t need you getting akumatized over this.”

“I know, Longg,” she said. 

“Call on me if you need me,” he said with a smile. Marinette gave the kwami a smile and closed the box. She put it away and hid it in a drawer.

She scanned the room again, trying to keep in mind any items that would give away her Ladybug self to him. Why had she invited him in again? 

Once she was sure all her secrets were hidden, she went back to the hatch while Tikki went to hide.

She half expected him to leave after that display of insanity, but he was just leaning against the railing, looking out to Marinette’s view of the city at night. “You can come in, now,” she said gently. He turned around and smiled at her. She tried to ignore how that look affected her differently than before. “My parents just went to bed, so we’ll have to be somewhat quiet. They get up at four to start baking, so they sleep early.”

Once inside and on the floor rather than on her bed with Chat Noir (her bed being under the entrance never seemed that awkward to her before), she stood stiffly, holding her hands as he looked around. “You’ve been in here before, right?” she asked, half-heartedly pointing to the dolls lining her desk.

He walked over, picking up his own doll and smiling. “Yeah, I remember this guy well.” He turned and held it next to his face. “You’ve really captured my eyes.” The black beady eyes of the doll stared back at Marinette.

“Yeah, it’s like you’re standing in front of a tiny mirror,” Marinette mused.

He set the doll down closer to the Ladybug doll than it had previously been, and walked around, taking in the room. Marinette smirked and shook her head, before covertly placing the doll back to where it had been.

Chat Noir looked closely at pictures she had in the room. “They look nice,” he said to a photo of the class.

“They are,” she agreed. He walked around a little more, taking in the room's structure, the view from the window, and looking at a sewing project she had laid out at her desk. “Oh, that’s just…” she said, feeling self-conscience. “I’m making it for my mom,” she finished. Marinette didn’t have the money to re-buy the fabric she wanted and the dress for her mom at the same time. Her budget would never allow it. It still annoyed her to have lost the fabric she bought, but it was probably for the best. She only had so much time to make her mom’s dress, and a distraction would have just slowed her down.

Of course, no one knew any of those troubles. All Chat Noir did was look curiously at the work being done. “What is it?”

“Not finished,” she said, coming over to it and fussing with the fabric as though that would cover up the bare bones of the project. He raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s a dress,” she said. “I just like to design things.”

“No plans to use it for anything?” he asked.

“Dinner on Friday,” she said. “Lunar New Year. You buy new clothes as a tradition, but I wanted to make my mom something.” She didn’t know why she was nervous about him looking at it. Chat Noir wore black leather, and as far as she knew, that was all he ever wore. What would he know about fashion?

That didn’t stop him from having an opinion, though. Her fussing with covering it uncovered the sketch she made for the dress. He leaned in close to look at it and smiled. “It looks really great so far! I knew you were talented, but you keep surprising me.”

She laughed softly. “You can tell that much from that from a bunch of rags and a pencil sketch?”

He winked. “I have a sixth sense about these sorts of things.”

He sat on the chaise lounge, his eyes continuing to look around the room. “It’s not often I’m invited into a girl’s room just for the sake of it,” he said. He watched Marinette as she sat next to him. “It’s very pink.”

“It’s not that pink,” she said, frowning as she looked around. “And I don’t think that’s a prerequisite to it being a girl’s room. And you’ve been here before!”

“Yeah, but the pink kind of soaks in the more time you have to focus on it.”

“Remind me why I invited you in here again?” she said, giving him a look.

“I actually don’t know why you invited me in here,” he said, grinning at her. “But I’m very curious.”

Marinette flushed, as she looked away. “Well, uh, I…” She flailed her hands around as though she could find an answer that way, before letting them fall. “I...don’t know.”

He cocked his head to the side. “No?”

Marinette winced. “No.” He was quiet for a moment. Unsure of what that meant, she quickly said, “I mean, it’s nothing bad! I just didn’t...want you...to leave…” Each word got a little quieter than when she started out. How did this make her sound? Maybe she  _ was  _ a hussy.

She expected him to make fun of her for it, maybe start flirting up a storm. But instead, he leaned back on his hands and looked forward, as though thinking, a faint smile on his face. “I didn’t want to leave, either.”

They looked at each other, took in a breath, and sighed at the same time. What were they doing?

“You don’t have someone at home to miss you?” Marinette asked. “Wait, you...don’t have to answer that. Secret identity and all.”

Chat Noir looked at her curiously for a moment, before tilting his head to the side. “Not really. They’ll notice eventually, but I should be good for now.” He considered for a moment. “So you have your parents, your grandma, your grandpa, and your uncle, right?”

“Just my parents live here in the apartment,” she said. “And I have more family abroad. You have a good memory. How did you know Chef Wang was my great uncle?”

“Uh-I-oh-uh,” he said, sitting up straight. “Might have...watched the show afterward. Yeah,” he said, nodding to himself. “Make sure he was okay after being akumatized.”

“That’s sweet,” she said, “that you checked up on him.”

“Yeah, I do what I can,” he said breezily. Then he hesitated. “Uh, well, you know... I wanted to check up on you after the other day, but...I thought it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“A little,” she agreed. “All things considered. But I would have understood.”

“Ah, good,” he said, laying down on the chaise and putting his hands over his eyes. “You have no idea how much of a creep I thought you’d think I was! So I just stayed away!” He got back up and turned to her. “But today felt like I needed to check up on you. And I’m glad I did.”

Marinette wanted to frown at Chat Noir for being comfortable enough _ in her room _ to lie down on her couch, but she smiled despite herself. “I’m glad you did, too!”

He folded his legs in a lotus position, smiling at her. “And thanks for inviting me in,” he said. “You didn’t have to, but it was nice.”

She shrugged, trying to play it off as though it were nothing. As though she didn’t have a boy secretly in her room by herself while her parents were asleep. As though rumors weren’t flying about the two, and she hadn’t been waiting for the next shoe to drop and things to get worse before they got better. “I would say you’re welcome here anytime, but I think it might be awkward if you dropped in while my friends were here.”

He huffed a laugh. “I could pretend that I’m just working as your model, to try on the clothes you design.”

“All the fashion a superhero could want,” Marinette said. “When they’re not wearing spandex or leather.”

“I’d wear your earrings for free advertisement,” he said, putting his hands up to his cat ears. “‘This akuma defeat is brought to you by  _ Fashions by Marinette _ . You’d be so popular, even Hawk Moth would wear your designs.”

Marinette laughed a little too loudly at the thought of Hawk Moth releasing akumas while looking fabulous in dangling earrings. She covered her mouth, looking to her trap door in worry, before she was satisfied she didn’t wake her parents. She looked back to Chat Noir, who seemed pretty pleased with himself. She threw one of the chaise pillows at him, which he easily caught, peeking out from behind it, still looking pretty damn smug. 

“Well, you can give him some the next time you face off against him,” she said. “I’ll make it match his color palette.”

“I’m sure he’ll find that end-earring,” he said. Marinette gave him a look. He grinned. So proud of himself to get under her skin. 

How had they even gotten into that conversation thread, anyways? Ah, right.

“I could make you bell-earrings so you can match,” she said, tapping the bell on his collar, the light jingling sounding pleasant to her ears. “Why the bell, anyway?”

“ _ Why the bell? _ ” he asked incredulously. “Have you looked at me lately?” He gestured to himself with enthusiasm. “I’m adorable!”

She huffed a laugh. “I guess I can’t argue wi--I mean…” she shook her head to get that thought out of her mind. “It breaks up the rest of the costume, so it’s an acceptable touch.” She had hoped he didn’t catch what she was about to say, but the satisfied grin on his face dashed said hopes.

“Soooo,” he said, leaning forward. “It turns out one Miss Dupain-Cheng thinks I’m adorable?”

She blushed lightly, fighting the urge to stammer. This was Ladybug’s Chat Noir, not Marinette’s Adrien. She’s never had trouble talking around him, no matter what her persona. She could talk just fine around him. She swallowed hard, trying to steady her thought before she said, “Well, you walk around dressed like a cat, of course you’re adorable.” No matter how easily she tried to say that statement, like it was nothing (what? A compliment? Please, I’m just stating facts!), her reddening face betrayed her. “I mean, as adorable as anyone who wears a bell around their---you know what? Let’s change subjects!” She said, folding her arms and looking away in a huff at the increased cockiness in his grin.

“Okay,” he said, giving a not-at-all casual shrug. “To answer your question, I don’t know why the bell. It just happened. In fact, Ladybug and I switched Miraculous once, and her costume was completely different. No bell on her whatsoever. It would have been disappointing if she didn’t look so cool.” He looked off into the distance, thinking wistfully of the memory, and sighed. Marinette tried not to laugh at that."I was told it was something we wanted deep down.” He made an actual casual shrug this time. “Wait, you’ve been a superhero,” he said, tossing his hand up to question his own logic.

“What?” she squeaked. 

“The tiniest superhero I’ve ever seen,” he said with a sly smile. Oh, right. Her mind naturally went to Ladybug first. She would have to work on that if she was going to be around him more as Marinette. “I keep forgetting you know what Kwami’s are. He told me that. I never thought I had a deep-seated love of bells, but…” he jingled the bell on his neck.

Marinette pursed her lips. He probably shouldn’t be talking about their Kwamis with someone who, as far as he knew, only saw one once. “It was a while ago,” she said, seeing if she could give him the hint that maybe he shouldn’t talk about this kind of thing.

“You never forget a Kwami… well, not on your own anyway,” he said. A small sadness crept onto his face. She wished she didn’t know he was remembering Master Fu. He looked to her, as though trying to read her thoughts. She looked away, feeling a slight panic creep over her.

After a moment, he smiled. “It would be nice, though, to have you on the team.” He grinned wide. “I could make so many cat and mouse jokes.” 

“I thought cats wore bells so they scared away their prey.”

“Worried I’d pounce you every time I saw you?” 

She snorted. “Not with that bell on, I’m not. And anyway, you strike me more like the kind of cat who’d let the mouse they’re supposed to catch eat out of their food bowl rather than try to eat them.”

He tried to look insulted.” Why would you say that?"

“Well, you’re playful and funny and--”

“Adorable,” he finished for her, resting his head on his hand.

“No, your BELL makes you look adorable. I mean, your costume, not...  _ you _ . Well, I mean, you are... “ ‘Handsome,’ she wanted to say, but she shook her head and continued louder than intended, “And it just looks nice. Like you. You’re nice. So your costume suits you.” She folded her arms. “Ladybug’s costume, on the other hand, is very straight to the point.”

His eyes flashed with delight, as though he wanted to say something about Ladybug, but he held himself back. Maybe out of respect and not wanting to speak about another girl he was obviously in love with, maybe because he was afraid he would gush about Ladybug and not be able to stop. Both seemed like an option with him. But anything Marinette might have hoped to hear from her partner about her alter-ego was clamped down on when he shook his head softly and smiled at her.

Her computer chirped to life. The screen went from black to showing her desktop for anyone in the room to see, all while the ringing of a video call brought focus on itself. The screen had a collage of Adrien Agreste photos, with his signature highlighted in gold on the corner, and a few artistically drawn hearts framing some of her favorite photos.

Marinette squeaked in horror as she raced over to the computer to turn off the screen. The whole affair should have been a simple fix: rush to the computer, shut off the screen, then act as though the boy in her room did not get a first-hand glimpse at the boy who had her heart.

But she was Marinette, the most uncoordinated person she knew. So while she was busy silently applauding herself for not tripping on her own two feet and crashing face-first into her desk, she made a severe error. She had intended to hang up the video call. 

She accidentally hit the “answer” button instead.

Now a new horror caused her body to seize up as she realized she had answered a call with Alya. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she looked over to Chat Noir, who had halfway gotten up, then frozen in his position, eyes equally wide. He was out of frame, she knew this, but she frantically put her hand up to signal him not to move, before looking back at the call. “You okay, there, girl?” Alya said. “You look flustered.”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Her voice betrayed that statement. “Just stubbed my toe.” That would explain away the pitch change in her tone. “Can you give me a second?” Or maybe five while she tried to get Chat Noir to leave her room as soon as possible. “I just need to finish something.”

“O...kay,” Alya said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re not backing out, are you?”

“N-no,” she said quickly. “I mean, I know this is important. I just didn’t mean to answer immediately. Plus, you know, I gotta...ice my stubbed toe for a second. Can I call you back?”

“You know I’ve told you those saw-horse style legs on your desk are a hazard,” Alya said. “How many times have you hit those things this month alone?”

“I mean, not that many. Maybe...five?” Marinette answered dejectedly. While she did injure herself often on the legs, they did make a good excuse if she needed to leave quickly for an akuma attack. Alya even offered to buy her a small freezer for her room so she would have ice packs on hand. Marinette was almost sure that was a joke. Almost.

“Well, just call me back in a few minutes. I’m watching my sisters this evening. They’re in bed, but you know how they are. Who knows how long it’ll stay that way.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be real quick.”

“Not too quick,” Alya said. “If I don’t hear back from you, I’ll have to assume you fell down the stairs again - and you don’t want me to worry.” She waved quickly and cut the call. Marinette immediately turned off her screen. Then she promptly face-desked.

She didn’t hear Chat Noir walk up next to her, so she startled when he asked, “Fall down the stairs AGAIN?”

“It was one time,” she said. “And that’s not fair, I was talking to her on my phone when it happened. I was okay, but it scared her.”

“I imagine it would scare anyone,” he said. “This house is  _ made  _ of stairs.”

Marinette frowned. “My parents once joked about getting me crash pads and a helmet for whenever I needed to change floors.”

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure they were joking?”

Marinette clapped a hand over her forehead. This was humiliating. Everyone who knew her knew she was a klutz. Except this was Chat Noir - her partner, who held her in reverence. She had told him more than once that she was a klutz, but he didn’t seem to believe her most of the time given how adept at spatial reasoning Ladybug was. Even if Chat Noir had no idea they were the same two people, it didn’t stop her from feeling like he’d lose some respect for his lady. There were times it seemed like it would be easier for them to know each other’s secret identities, but this moment made her want to guard that secret for the rest of her life.

“I overstepped,” he said. Marinette looked at him, but he was looking away, hand on the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.” Marinette straightened up. Had she looked as dejected as her thoughts made her feel? “I just...that’s...you’re...I mean…” He slumped in defeat. “I wouldn’t want to see you hurt, either.”

“So I should wear floaties to jump over a puddle?” she asked, smirking to show she was joking.

He looked at her carefully, before allowing a delicate smile to cross his face. “And maybe a snorkel if you face-plant.” He stepped back and looked at her foot. “Did you really stub your toe?”

“No!” she said quickly, flexing her foot to prove it was okay. “I didn’t mean to answer her. I just wanted to get her off the phone.”

“Ah, right,” he said, looking at the now dark computer screen. “Soooo….” He turned back to her. She could see the debate waging on his features. She gave him a curious look until his curiosity seemed to win out. “Adrien Agreste?”

She went pale. How could he notice that from so far away and yet not notice that she didn’t actually stub her toe? “He’s… a famous model!” she said, worry on her face as she tried to smile the suspicion away. “He-we-I...design things!” A little voice in her head gave her an out. “I mean, we go together really well, right?” She winced. “I mean, because of the industries. The modeling and fashion industry. They go together well.”

Chat Noir looked at the blank screen before looking back at her. He leaned in, a cocky look on his face. “Were those little hearts I saw?” He made a heart with his hands.

How much more embarrassing could her night get? “What!? No! That was… uh… artistic… flourish! Yeah. I enjoy doing design. I guess, if I squint really hard and look at it sideways and from far away while having astigmatism, they MIGHT look like hearts.”

“Ah,” he said, nodding as he considered what she said. “I must have astigmatism, then.”

“Maybe,” she agreed.

“Maybe I should see it again so I can really appreciate it.”

Marinette felt her stomach drop. “Well,” she said, looking at her phone. “It’s getting late, and you should probably...you know.” She made a sweeping gesture with her arms. His eyes widened before he slumped again. The sadness on his face made her feel like she just swatted at a kitten with a rolled-up newspaper. “Oh, it’s nothing against you. But, I mean... I have to give Alya her interview.”

“Well,” he said coyly. “I could help you with that.”

Marinette furrowed her brows. “... wouldn’t that make her a little suspicious if we did an interview together?”

“Well,” he said. “She doesn’t have to know…”

Marinette smiled gently, putting a hand on his chest. “Alya and I are friends. We’re probably going to go off-topic a million times about things that would make me far too embarrassed to ever look you in the eye again.” Chat Noir gave her an intrigued and embarrassed look. She playfully smacked him in the chest. “Not like that! Your mind is in the gutter.”

He huffed a laugh. “How am I  _ supposed  _ to take that?”

“Would you want someone to listen in on your private conversation?”

He sighed. “Okay, I know, you’re right.”

She expected Alya to handle the interview like a professional, all the same, but she certainly couldn’t be at ease with Chat Noir there listening to everything she said. She also didn’t trust herself after that first interview with Nadja Chamack that turned the woman into Prime Queen. Any interviews as Ladybug posed the same risk. She didn’t want to add to the flames by being surprised by a question about her partner and have that all on film. Fans would read too much into anything she said and use it as proof of her ‘heartbreak’. She just hoped a simple interview as Marinette would be enough. “I’ll see you out.” Marinette led the way up to the hatch above the bed.

“Seems about right,” he muttered to himself. “I get kicked out of a girl’s room the same day I get invited into one.”

“Don’t worry, kitty. It has nothing to do with you.” Marinette was already at the hatch, about to lift it up, when she froze. Did... did she really just say what she said? She was afraid to turn around, or even acknowledge that she said anything. But she became acutely aware that Chat Noir stopped moving up the stairs the moment she said it.

“Did...you just call me ‘kitty’,” he asked.

She was pretty sure her mind exploded. That explained why she barely heard anything other than ringing in her ears. “Uh, is that bad?” she asked, trying hard to look nonchalant as she turned around. He looked stunned, to say the least. “Don’t other people call you that?”

He was quiet for a little too long. Marinette tried to read his expression, but all she could suss out was ‘stunned’. She was ready to word vomit an excuse at him why she would even call him that, but all she could remember was yelling, ‘I’m in love with you!’ and throwing herself at him. And that led her to think that her dad would pop into her room right after she would inevitably topple them both into a precarious position on their bed. It wouldn’t matter what nonsensical answer she would come up with - they would look guilty of having done something far more risque than anything that had actually transpired. After all, her parents had just wanted to give her the sex talk earlier (and because of Chat Noir, of all people.) Her father would see only his young, vulnerable daughter who very publicly kissed the leather-clad boy in front of her, on her bed. 

Wait a minute…

“You know, if we stay on my bed like this any longer, and my parents walk in, it might not look so good.” She looked expectantly at the door to her room. “My dad might not be so kind to you this time.”

That seemed to shake Chat Noir from the revelation he was having in his mind, replacing whatever thoughts he was working through with the memory of being beaten up by her akumatized father. He actually looked scared for a moment. “R-right,” he said, making his way to the hatch. He opened it halfway, before stopping, and looked to Marinette. “What are the chances he would come in this very second?”

Marinette looked to the side, taking all variables into account, before concluding, “Maybe fifteen percent.”

“I can take my chances with that,” he said, smiling lopsidedly. “I just... I don’t know what to say. But I don’t want this to be the last time we talk for a while.”

Marinette searched his eyes. “Me neither,” she said.

“It’s weird,” he said, “but we’ve been through a few things together - more so in the last day. And I feel like I’ve seen a side of you I didn’t know existed. And...okay, this is going to sound silly, but I feel like maybe that’s something...you only show for me?”

Marinette tried to work her mind around what he was trying to say. “I...don’t just go around kissing other people on the lips, if that’s what you mean.”

“Oh, no, no,” he said, bringing his arms down to wave them quickly in front of him. The latch above them slammed down. Both of them startled, covered their mouths, and looked to the door. They stood still and listened for a moment. After Marinette was sure she didn’t hear her parents stirring, she turned to Chat Noir.

“Thirty-five percent,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said again. “Agh, I’m just messing this up.” He looked down and sighed. “I’ll make it quick. I... want to see you again.”

Marinette looked up at him. She wondered for a moment if this was a good idea. Sure, she was encouraged to give up on Adrien. But Chat Noir was her partner. Her partner who had been very much in love with her... or Ladybug... for a long time. And, okay, there was a part of her that was jealous of the idea of Chat Noir stopping his pursuit of Ladybug to pursue Marinette. And there was the added complication of him not knowing her, but her knowing him. All of it was a mess waiting to happen. “I have to think about it.”

Chat Noir sucked in a breath. “S-sure,” he said. But he seemed to be in a hurry to leave now. “I guess I should just…” He reached up again, opening the latch halfway.

“Wait,” she said, putting her hands on his chest.

“It’s okay,” he said, looking at her. “This is probably too much, and I’m probably too much trouble.”

“No, that’s not it at all,” she said. “I’m going through a lot right now, and I don’t want to make a decision that could hurt us both just when I might not be thinking clearly.”

He sighed. “I’ll respect that, really.”

“Please don’t leave upset,” she said. Unlike Ladybug, who will see him again, she felt like the only time she would have to tell him anything was now. How could she possibly bring it up as Ladybug? How could she possibly communicate with him when she was in her civilian form and she didn’t know his?

But he mustered up a hurt but gentle smile. “Really, I’m not. And I don’t want to hurt you either. I don’t want to push you on this. I’ve already lost my chance with someone because I was too pushy.”

“You’re not being pushy,” she said, feeling the opportunity slipping away. How could he stay there and act hurt when she hadn’t even rejected him? How could he sacrifice something so easily when nothing started yet?

“It’s okay, I get it,” he said again, still holding the hatch half-open, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

“You don’t,” she insisted. He was so frustrating sometimes. She leaned in closer.

“Really, Marinette,” he said. “My life isn’t an easy one, you don’t even know who I am.”

“You--” she cut herself off before she could say that he didn’t know who she was, either. “You’re being dense.”

“Dense?” he asked. She had gotten so close to him now.

“Stupid and dense and now I’m upset!”

“Wh—how did I manage that?” he asked, concern tracing the lines of his face.

“Because!” That was all she managed to say. They both stood still for a moment, realizing how close they had gotten to one another. But his hands still held the half-opened latch, his escape route prepared for him. And he was looking at her, so close to her, his warmth permeating from his suit. And then something came over her. She closed the final distance between them. The next thing she knew, she had her lips pressed to his.

He made a small noise, pleasantly startled. She felt him relax as her hands moved from his chest to behind his back, holding him in an embrace. The hatch closed before he followed her lead, embracing her back. She felt unsteady, the mattress below them shifting along with their weight. She held onto him tighter for stability, and he followed suit. 

She pulled back for a moment to catch her breath, but he held her close, as though he were now afraid that she would bolt. “What was that for?” he asked, looking at her with those amazing green eyes.

“I...don’t know,” she breathed. “I just didn’t want you to leave?”

He smiled. “Well, it worked.” He leaned in close and kissed her - gentle pecks again and again. With each kiss, she worked up the courage to try something new. She let the last kiss linger for a moment before she parted her lips and allowed her tongue to slip into his mouth. She could hear the startled sound again, and he backed away, putting a clawed hand to his blushing face.

“Was that too much?” she asked, feeling her own face go red. “That was too much, wasn’t it?”

He looked at her in shock. “No,” he breathed, mouth still hidden behind his hand. “Surprising,” he said. She let out a soft laugh. She enjoyed catching him off guard. “Ca — um... can we try that again?”

She felt the side of her lip curl up into a smile as they pressed their lips to each other’s. She parted her lips again, and he followed suit, experimenting with what movements made chills go down her spine; what flick of their tongues made the other make a small, delighted noise; what moments to take a breath and when to continue exploring the warm, delicate, electrifying feeling of French kissing.

Her phone rang. Both the teenagers jumped, Marinette knocking Chat Noir back, and her tumbling on top of him on her bed. Well, if her dad walked in now, he would have akumatized into some shotgun wedding villain, surely. She put a small amount of distance between them, and the two looked at each other, embarrassed for a moment before she looked at her phone.

Alya was calling her.

“It’s been twenty minutes since I hung up with her?” Marinette asked, wondering where the time had gone.

“Wow. She must think you died.”

Marinette scrambled to hang up the call - and actually hang it up this time - then texted quickly.

_ ‘Sorry, kitchen. Parents asleep. Two minutes.’ _

She put her phone down... and realized she had not moved from on top of the boy since she fell on him. “Sorry!” she said, lifting herself up quickly. Like so many times where he laid on top of her during fights, she now saw the appeal.

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to unwork the smile on his face unsuccessfully.

Marinette’s face turned a bright shade of red, realizing she liked how she made him smile like that. Scrambling off of Chat Noir, she sat cross-legged on her bed, facing into her room rather than towards him. She hated that she was longing to kiss him again. She needed him to leave. She needed him to stay. Talk about confusing signals. 

“A date,” he said. She looked at him curiously. He was sitting cross-legged as well, looking at her with a gentle calmness about him. “I know you have a lot to think about, but isn’t that why people go on dates? To work that if the person is worth working that kind of stuff out for?”

It seemed like the worst plan in the world, after everything she had been through that day. What if people took more pictures? And if Hawk Moth started watching her? What if it all went south, and she was the perfect victim to be akumatized? But she looked at the eager expression on his face, and couldn’t help herself. “Okay...”

He grinned wildly. “I’ll come by tomorrow to pick you up.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it. “You should call your friend.” Then, in one smooth motion, he opened up the hatch and hopped out, carefully closing it behind him.

Marinette smiled at the hatch. Then her video call sounding on her computer wiped the dreamy look off her face. She slid down her banister to the computer and opened up the call. Alya’s annoyed face stared at her. “GIRL!”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh. She had a bit of explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank everyone for their kind words in the last chapter when I talked about dealing with imposter syndrome. I feel more confident at the moment, which is good because we're getting into the part of a story that is a mess and I need to be careful about editing. Now, I wanted to have this story written and posted by today, Valentine's Day, but I think I'm about halfway through and that's not happening anytime soon... So we're just going to have a Valentine's Day ending not on Valentine's Day like I planned =/ I hope you enjoyed the extended kissing scene (it was originally supposed to be one paragraph) and the twice-as-long chapter (could barely edit it down - I have trouble killing my darlings) to make up for it. Happy Valentine's Day!


	10. The Interviews

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. I mentioned a dragging middle that I would have to cut down - well...I've reached that part. And it's far worse than I thought. When I wrote my first draft, I was writing in circles at this part to try and figure out how to get from point a to point b. Now in editing, this next chapter didn't hit right, and in trying to unravel the mess that it was, I had to get deeper and deeper into the other chapters to try and figure out what I was even trying to do. Long story short, I hit an editing wall and it destroyed my somewhat consistent and quick upload schedule. I finally made sense of everything yesterday and this chapter is basically 95% new material to try and help streamline the rest of the story. Updates may come a little slower these next few chapters as I slog through the messy middle. Thank you all for your kind comments that kept me going!
> 
> Also, I don't want to leave the impression that I'm just in constant pain editing, haha! It can be really fun, but it can be a massive pain sometimes. It's a labor of love! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

By the time Marinette finished blabbering her mess of an excuse - that involved getting ice and being hungry and spilling milk everywhere - Marinette had no expectation for Alya to believe her. Despite her record of clumsiness, she usually wasn’t so flustered when informing people about some incident or other. The only reason Alya seemed to accept it was because she wasn’t sure how much time they would have for the interview. Marinette hated having to lie to Alya all the time, but she was thankful Alya didn’t pry into what Marinette was doing to make her lie so much. Still, she knew her luck would run out, eventually. 

The interview process itself was nerve-wracking. Still, getting the entire series of events out made her feel like people would understand just how innocent everything really was. From explaining how she walked blindly into the fight, to how they reacted once caught in the bond, to how she hurt her arm, to her feelings she heard the answer that Clara had given to them; and what happened after they left the cafe - reliving the event felt a lot easier as she continued on. Though, watching Alya write notes while Marinette was telling her side of the story raised her blood pressure a little.

While she was loath to have to share the conversation that happened between her and Chat Noir, she was trusting Alya to have good intentions with the results of what she had said. Alya would nod, smile, write notes, ask follow-ups. It wasn’t unlike when she gave the interview to Ladybug, only she was much more at ease as her superhero counterpart.

Alya closed out the interview asking for Marinette to give a final statement, gave an outro monologue, stopped recording, then looked down to her notes, and back up to her second monitor. Her brow furrowed in concern as she looked at the screen. Marinette, on the other hand, leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. Tikki, who was sitting at the base of the monitor, gave her a comforting smile. “I’m so glad that’s all over,” she said.

Alya cringed. “Yeeeaaaaah. I can’t use that.”

Marinette sat straight in her chair. “What?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she said, shaking her head, giving Marinette a knowing look. “I can’t use that at all. The whole point of doing the interview was to get people off your back! This... this would make things worse, no matter how interesting it is.”

“Wha---why?” she said. She looked at the time. It had gotten pretty late. She needed to finish her homework. She wanted to get rest for any onslaught she might face the next day. She wanted to decompress for the night. Maybe spend some time actually thinking about everything that happened to her that night. And now, she might have to do the interview again? “Did the audio get messed up? Did I have something on my face?”

“Yeah, you had something on your face,” Alya said, leaning in. “Love.”

“What?”

“Girl, you’ve got it bad,” she said. “There’s no way I can post this with you getting all goo-goo-eyed whenever you talked about Chat Noir.”

Marinette tried to say words, but they just came out as a blubbering mess. Finally, she took a moment, recollected her thoughts, then looked to Alya again. All that would come out was, “What?”

“You were doing really well,” Alya said, looking over the video on a second screen. “Almost like you rehearsed or something, but also still very you. But I mean... well, give me a second, and I’ll show you what I mean.” She looked to her notes, clicked around with her mouse, and - just as Marinette felt like the anxiety would make her explode - sent a few attachments through their chat. “You’ve got it bad.”

Glaring at Alya, Marinette opened the first video attachment. The side-by-side video popped up with both Alya's and Marinette’s faces on it.

_“Have you had a lot of interactions with Chat Noir before this?” Alya asked._

_“A few,” she said with a gentle smile. “But all involved akumatized villains.”_

Marinette remembered thinking how clever she was to give the answer that way. No one had to know about their interrupted rooftop picnic when Glaciator attacked, or that her akumatized father happened after Chat Noir met her parents and supposedly broke her heart. She didn’t realize that recalling those two memories fondly made her dawn a far-off look that did, in fact, look like goo-goo eyes.

“That’s practically ‘ _Adrien’_ face,” Alya said.

“I do NOT have an ‘ _Adrien’_ face,” Marinette defended.

Another attachment came through. Marinette frowned and clicked on it.

_“Why do you think this villain chained you, specifically, to Chat Noir?”_

_“I think everyone has a little bit of a crush on at least one of our superheroes, don’t you?” She gave a small, nervous shrug._

_“True,” Alya said, smirking. “Maybe you can tell us why_ you _have one?”_

Marinette had tried not to overreact to such a question. In her mock interview with Adrien, he pointed out some of her reactions an audience might misconstrue. He had also asked her a variation of this question, and it killed her to try and come up with reasons to have a ‘crush’ on her partner while talking to the boy she was actually in love with. She hated that he seemed amused by it. He also pointed out how much she was blushing, but she could hardly control that.

_“He’s kind, handsome, athletic,” her video self said. “Strong, compassionate, funny...well, he thinks he is, at least.” She clamped her lips shut on that because she knew it sounded too familiar. But she still looked guilty, somehow._

_“I think the puns turn most people off,” Alya said offhandedly. Marinette laughed softly and agreed._

_“He’s silly,” she said when Alya clearly was planning to move on from the question. “But I think that’s just because life can be so serious - especially doing what he does. Why can’t he enjoy himself a little?”_

She hated that she sounded like a smitten girl justifying her boyfriend’s actions. She didn’t need to defend _him_ ; she needed to defend herself.

_Alya raised an eyebrow. “Is this some insight from the conversation you guys had?”_

_Marinette squirmed a little. “I don’t want to get into details - for his privacy, mainly. But he talked about how hard it can be on him… and Ladybug. We really had to open up to each other, even though we didn’t know each other too well. Mind you, it was a little hard when we had to guard his secret identity and there was so much at stake.”_

Marinette opened up the next attachment that Alya had sent her.

_“Tell us about the double kiss.”_

_Marinette faltered. “I think we were just caught up in the moment. We had to be, to get unbound from each other, so he could do his work. It was nice. I don’t know what else you can say about a kiss, though.”_

She stared at the way her video self had put her hand on her cheek. Like she was savoring the memory. What was she doing? She internally yelled at herself to put her hand down.

Another video popped up. “There’s more?” Marinette asked in anguish. She opened up the attachment.

_“Where do you think you two go from here?” Ayla asked._

_“Well, it’s not like we can do anything else,” Marinette said. “He’s a superhero. He has a secret identity. Everyone thinks this is the beginning of a lifelong relationship for us, but we couldn’t date even if we wanted to. I don’t even have a way to get in contact with him. It was an akuma attack - that’s all.”_

_“How does that make you feel?” she asked._

Marinette saw herself squirm. She saw how uncomfortable the question made her. But not just uncomfortable - sad. And she remembered thinking how much she didn’t want Chat Noir to leave. She had to deflect the question. Instead, she talked about how difficult the last day had been for her, and all the things others had accused her of.

Alya shook her head. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you didn’t answer my question.”

“Alya!”

“One last one,” she said, hitting send. Another attachment popped up. Marinette considered just not opening it. But her curiosity was a morbid one. She needed to know what damning evidence her friend had just collected on her.

_“Are you a Ladybug/Chat Noir shipper, too?”_

_Marinette made a noise between a laugh and a scoff before she coughed. “I don’t like the idea of shipping actual people together - especially not after the harassment I received today. But I do think they make a great team, and I hope they stay together in that sense for a long time.”_

And there it was. The look that was undeniably one of love. Which was ridiculous. Chat Noir was her partner. She didn’t have feelings like that for him. It was just a misconstrued interpretation of her reaction to the trust she has in her friend and partner. But no one knew she was Ladybug, so no one would ever see it that way.

“That’s…” Marinette said, pointing at the screen, before shutting the videos one by one. “That’s not fair. We went through a lot together. Er, I mean, in a short period of time.”

“True,” Alya said, “But people are going to eat you alive if I post a video of that interview. You’re too in love!”

“I’m not in love,” Marinette said quickly, crossing her arms.

“You say that you’ve only met him a few times when he rescued you, but you’re acting like you see each other all the time.”

Marinette did her best to wipe the guilty look off her face as quickly as possible, but Alya noticed. Usually, she could get away with such things, but Alya was in reporter mode, and that’s when everything was a clue to her. Before the other girl could say anything, Marinette clarified, “I do _not_ see him all the time.”

“Oh, my god,” Alya said, as she started putting together some little bits of information. She rolled her chair back to her map of akuma activity on her wall. On a map of Paris, she had used little purple butterfly pins at every place an akumatized villain was first reported. Thread showed where they moved, with red pins showing where they were defeated. She pointed at her map. “Just off the top of my head, I can name three different akuma’s who ended up at the bakery!”

“... I’m sure it hasn’t been that many,” Marinette said.

“Didn’t your dad get akumatized?” Alya asked.

“Yours did, too,” Marinette defended.

“Because of Kim. And I know the story of how that happened. You never told me the full story of why your dad was akumatized. But I bet you had to have Chat Noir save you.”

“And Ladybug,” she said. “Really, Ladybug did most of the work.” She felt her gut roil as she remembered how bad of a beating Chat Noir took. And he took it for her sake.

“Troublemaker,” Alya said. “I know you were home when all that happened - you were on TV just before that woman was akumatized.”

“I hid in the bathroom, I told you,” Marinette said.

“And that one baby who wanted cake. I mean, they literally had to save your bakery. And again, that was at night, so you _had_ to be home! Multiple times, you’ve had to have Chat Noir and Ladybug save you! So much more than a ‘few’ interactions!”

“What are you suggesting, Alya?” Marinette asked dryly. “That I’m some damsel in distress that needs to be rescued?” While she needed Chat Noir’s help to do what they did, they had rescued each other many times. For all she knew, she had rescued his civilian self before, too.

“Come on! You’ve seen him more often than you’re letting on! Admit it!”

Marinette glared at the screen. If that was the conclusion that Alya had come to, she didn’t see a reason to not lead her to continue down that path. It was better than letting her stumble across the notion that she could be Ladybug. “Fine, you got me. I’ve seen him more than a few times. He’s a flirt; he’s charming. But he’s like that with everyone.”

Alya looked at her notes, eyes wide, as she started writing things down from her oncoming revelation. “Oooooh, we have to explore this.”

“No, we don’t!” Marinette said, hitting the desk softly with her fists in a tiny tantrum. “The interview is over, remember? Why is this important?”

“Have you ever kissed him before that?” Alya asked.

Marinette buried her hands in her face, “Oh, boy, here we go.”

“Okay, this probably wouldn’t have been a big deal for you if you did,” she said. “And you haven’t seen him since, right?”

Marinette lifted her face from her hands, “Alya, this is--” But to her surprise, the amateur sleuth had another revelatory expression on her face.

“You looked off to the side like you were gesturing to someone when you answered the video call.” Marinette’s eyes went wide. It took her one second too long to school her features. 

“I... was looking at my mom!”

“Don’t they go to sleep every night at eight sharp?” Alya said with an excitement that made Marinette’s stomach clench. “And I definitely called you after eight because Etta kept insisting she wanted orange juice, then I had to get some for Ella, then they hated it because they just brushed their teeth, and they got all rowdy because they wanted to enjoy their juice so they wanted to wait up — you know what, that’s not important!” She pointed at Marinette triumphantly. “There’s no way your parents would let someone stay over at your place unless it was a sleepover. And you wouldn’t keep a sleepover from me. So whoever was there had to have snuck in. And the only way to sneak in without going through the front door and risking your parents seeing them is through the balcony! That you can only reach by rooftop!” Alya stood up triumphantly as the color drained from Marinette’s face. She pointed at the computer screen. “You had Chat Noir in your room tonight!”

Marinette stared at her in disbelief. How in the world did she piece that together, and yet still not have figured out she was Ladybug?

Then Alya’s triumphant expression turned to shock. She covered her mouth. “Oh, my god! I didn’t really believe it until you _just verified it_!”

“What?” Marinette nearly screeched, before cringing and looking to her bedroom door to make sure she didn’t wake up her parents. “I didn’t say anything,” she whispered. “Why would you say that?”

“Your face verified it! Marinette!” Alya said, tossing down her pencil. “Come on, girl, I knew you were acting fishy when you answered the phone. But I did NOT expect that! Are you kidding me? You’re just having a superhero in your room like its nothing?!”

“Alya, Alya, wait!”

“And not just any superhero! Chat Noir! I can’t believe this! My best friend is dating Chat Noir,” she whisper-shouted. “How did this happen?!”

“We’re not dating,” Marinette said crisply. “And you need to calm down!”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?” Alya said, waiting expectantly for an answer.

Marinette looked at Alya, looked over to Tikki, who seemed just as shocked at Marinette. All the Kwami could do was shrug her shoulders. Marinette pretended that the look to Tikki was just her trying to think as she leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Look, he only came by to check up on me because he saw the video.” Alya’s mouth hung open, speechless. Marinette didn’t think she ever saw her friend speechless before. Walking into her room as Ladybug with Chat Noir while holding a cardboard costume failed to leave Alya speechless. But now, Marinette was sure she had broken her best friend. So she continued. “I invited him into my room to talk. When you called, I accidentally answered the call because my Adrien pictures were all over my screen and I wanted to turn off my monitor.”

Alya leaned back in her desk, hand over her mouth, seeing her friend in a brand new light. “And...that lame excuse for why you didn’t call me back sooner?” Marinette turned a bright red. Alya crossed her arms. “And how long did it take you to tell him goodbye?”

“Longer than expected,” Marinette said, looking off to the side.

Alya once again covered her mouth. “You kiss him _again_?” Marinette stammered for a moment. “You did!” Alya concluded, making Marinette turn even redder. “Oh, my God! What about Ladybug?!”

Marinette put her hands out, questioning Alya’s train of thought. “Are you going to join the other people who are upset about this?” she asked.

“Okay, you know what, you’re right about that. What about ADRIEN!?” she said, leaning in close to her webcam. “All this time, it’s just been him. Where did this come from?”

Marinette shook her head and looked down. “I don’t know! It just happened!”

“But Adrien is finally paying attention to you! Are you done with him?”

“No!” Marinette said, her shoulders sinking. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I guess I’ll know tomorrow when I see him, right? But...I don’t know! I don’t know what any of this means! And either way, he’s just a friend who’s concerned about me and what happened to me.”

Alya smacked her forehead at that. “Work with that! You’re breaking barriers! He stole you away to your house for alone time! He gave you a necklace! He’s trying to protect you!”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh. “All things a good friend would do for another good friend.”

Alya smacked her forehead again and took a deep breath. Then she pointed an accusatory finger at Marinette. “One thing at a time. But we _will_ get back to that later. For now, the interview.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts - the scandalized look on her face fading into a more serious expression. “Look, I can’t post this video because it’s obvious —.”

“I’m not in love with him!” She said, throwing up her hands. “We just kissed. A few times! It was nice!” Addictive, even, if she still wanted to do more. “And we can redo the interview!”

“You’re already sounding a little scripted,” Alya said, tapping her pencil. “I notice it because I know you so well. If we do another one, it’s going to be more obvious. I have to either edit together what I have, or we can just do a write-up of the interview.”

Marinette frowned. “I don’t know. Doesn’t that seem like I’m hiding something? Maybe we can just wait until tomorrow and do it then. Then I won’t sound as rehearsed!”

Alya’s eyes went wide. “Um...that might not be worth it.” Marinette gave her a look, waiting for her to explain. Alya sighed. “Maybe it’s a good thing your boyfriend distracted you tonight,” she said before sending a link.

“He’s not my--‘’ her words died out before she could finish stating them as she saw the link text. ‘All About the Two-Timer’s Kiss.’ The preview picture was one of Marinette with her face crossed out. Marinette clicked on it, and it was as they had feared since the security footage first came out. Marinette wasn’t about to watch the whole thing, but from what she could glean, it was, indeed, a breakdown of the entire released video. What small excerpts she saw painted Marinette in a negative light. A woman’s voiceover ranted a narration about all the things wrong with Marinette (her hair is stupid, she has a necklace so she’s already taken, she’s obviously faking her injury to get sympathy from Chat Noir); asking how could Chat Noir could fall for that (Ladybug is far superior, he should be devoted to her for the sake of Paris, he’s taken his flirting too far this time); and how they couldn’t let her get away with this (the true fans needed to send an e-mail campaign to her, they needed to show their support for Ladybug, they needed to get answers right away.)

Marinette slumped in her chair. Tikki had floated nearby, watching as Marinette watched. There were still frames of images taken from her social media before she deactivated it. There was video from when Jagged Stone filmed at her house. The video from the fashion show popped up. There were even photos of her in her pajamas as she helped Adrien sneak to the movies. “Do not tell me they are connecting me to Adrien,” Marinette said in horror. “If I drag him anymore into this, just bury me in a hole.”

“Girl, it’s way past that. They think you’re chasing fame by going after a famous model and a superhero,” Alya said.

She was going to be sick. She hadn’t checked her e-mails since she muted notifications for it. Now her phone sitting by her side seemed like a bomb about to go off. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“You seemed at ease,” she said. “And we were about to do an interview. I needed you to be as ‘you’ as possible. It would humanize you.”

Marinette leaned back in her seat. Tikki looked over to her. The kwami looked worried as she asked, “What are you going to do?”

Marinette closed her eyes. This was worse than she thought. The words Alya had said about humanizing her echoed in her ears. Everyone was making her out to be a villain. Even those kids who cornered her at school only knew her as a face in the crowd to investigate - a curious, passing thought. She had responded by not talking to them - which was warranted at the time. But she knew that wouldn’t work anymore - she needed to be heard. Not have her words read. Not have her words carefully cobbled together by someone else. She needed to answer as honestly as possible. Like grabbing the rose in the thorny tower, she was the only one who could save herself. “Another interview,” she answered Tikki.

“What?” Alya asked.

“I’m going to do another interview. We have to get this right. It looks too damning to edit a bunch of it or to have it be a written interview.” She took a deep breath, more determined than before. Alya looked doubtful. “You know I can perform under pressure! Trust me, Alya. I can do this.” Alya pursed her lips, but nodded all the same.

Tikki rubbed Marinette’s shoulder for support. Marinette took a deep breath, tried her best to clear her mind, and told Alya she was ready.

~~~~

As Adrien entered his room, he barely had a moment before he heard a knock at the door. Adrien de-transformed and stood stiffly as Nathalie walked in without invitation. “Your father would like to speak to you,” she said, holding the door open for the boy to follow.

The walk to his father’s office made him feel incredibly small. When Nathalie closed the door behind Adrien without entering herself, he knew it was bad.

Gabriel had pulled up on his monitor several screenshots from a video posted to the LadyNoir blog. They all involved him. It surprised him to see just how much time with Marinette he has actually spent - especially if it was enough to make the connection between him and her. He felt his stomach clench. With all the connections he had made to Marinette and Ladybug, he had to wonder if anyone else would, too. But then again, he knew both Ladybug and Marinette far more intimately than anyone else would. If anyone would find clues about them, it would be him.

“Nathalie has brought this to my attention,” he said. “Is there anything you would like to tell me?”

Adrien hung his head. He wasn’t entirely sure what his father was expecting him to say, but he knew why he would be upset. Adrien was, after all, the face of the Gabriel brand. “Father, you’ve met Marinette,” he said softly. “She’s my friend. She’s been harassed because of--”

“I’m aware of what has transpired,” he said. “What I’d like to know is if what this woman is saying is true.”

Adrien felt a prickle go up his spine. “What is she saying?” he asked.

“That you and this girl,” he said, pointing to the photo of him and Marinette in the fountain. “To quote the woman in the video, ‘are a thing’.”

Adrien coughed out a laugh before he clapped a hand over his mouth. Hearing his father quote some gossip was hard not to laugh at. “No, father,” he said after he composed himself. “Marinette is a really great friend. But we’re not a couple.”

His father gave him a meaningful look. “Adrien, I do what I must to try and keep this family safe.” Adrien hunched his shoulders, looking at the screen, afraid of what would be said next. “With your mother gone, I am the only thing keeping you safe from people who want to use you or cause you harm. You beg me to go to school, and now what is happening? Your grades are going down and you’re distracted by people like this young lady.”

“She doesn’t distract me,” he said defensively. The last few days, maybe.

“No? She seems to be a constant presence in your life. You go to parties with her?”

He remembered how his father had gotten upset when he asked for feedback on his gift for her. “It was her birthday - a lot of people were going.”

“She took it upon herself to beg for you to go to New York - and you know what a disaster that was.”

“...it was a class project - she didn’t want me to miss out. And the villain attacking wasn’t her fault!”

“I don’t like you getting involved with people like her. Shamelessly flirting with you when she is clearly taken. She doesn’t show the best judgment.”

“How? By being my friend?” he said. “She hasn’t been flirting with me! She wouldn’t do that. And she’s not taken.”

Gabriel opened up a screenshot that had a closeup of her necklace. “People don’t just give out an expensive necklace to someone they have no interest in. I assure you, she is taken. Which makes her--” Gabriel stopped when Adrien moved to say something. The boy clamped his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help the blush that crossed his face. “What were you going to say?”

Adrien cringed. Could he possibly shrink down any more? “I gave that to her,” he whispered. His father wasn’t one to look shocked often, but he definitely looked shocked now. “I just thought she’d look nice with it on! She loves pink. It’s all over her room.” He flinched at the way his father’s expression changed to something more stern. Adrien wanted to kick himself. In fact, he could just beat himself up for having said those words.

“You’ve been in her room?” his father asked, narrowing his eyes as he stared down at Adrien.

“W-well, a while ago! We were training for the tournament a while back, remember?” Adrien said quickly. “For the Mecha Strike tournament?”

Gabriel pinched his temples. Adrien watched him warily until he put his hand back down and looked at his son. “Adrien, you have to think of how people perceive you and how it affects the Gabriel brand. The daughter of a baker who often finds herself alone with boys is hardly someone who will be good for your image.”

“Chat Noir is a superhero! The villain was trying to slow him down! She would have been in more danger if she didn’t do what she could to get out of harm’s way,” he defended. “It’s not her fault Hawk Moth attacks innocent people!” Adrien felt insulted. Was this what people were accusing Marinette of? They were insinuating he would do unseemly things to a girl when left alone. That his own father was unknowingly accusing him was sickening. It sickened him so much, in fact, that the filter he usually had in place when he spoke to his father had completely dropped away when he added, “And besides, you chose Marinette’s design for the fashion show! You didn’t have a problem when she was alone with me in my dressing room!”

Adrien felt his face go pale as his father’s face went from aggravation to anger. “Wh-what I mean to say, father,” he added softly, “is that you trusted her. And you trusted me alone with her. And you know nothing would have happened. Why is it different now?”

“Because this girl has single-handedly threatened my business and my family,” he said sharply. “That my own son would spend so much money on a gift for a girl who isn’t even interested in dating him makes a mockery of you. That she has become a sensation after being represented in my fashion show, while wearing a necklace from my brand, belittles my company and puts it on the defensive. She has brought unneeded attention onto you by association alone.”

Adrien tried to rein back his own anger. He wanted to be with her, to date her, to see where things would go if they just let down their guard and give each other a chance. And his father was already trying to take that away from him? “She’s there for me when I needed her. She has always stayed by my side. She’s been a good friend and I want to be a good friend to her. Why does it ma--”

“It matters, Adrien,” Gabriel said sharply. “And I won’t have you talking back to me about this. I don’t want this girl to drag you down with her.” Gabriel turned and looked at the screen. In the low light, his features looked almost ominous to the teenage boy. “Maybe I should reconsider sending you to school if your friends are going to continue to cause problems for you.”

“They’re not causing problems!” Adrien said, feeling a panic bubble up in his chest. “Father, please, I’m just… tired. That’s why I’ve had trouble with schoolwork. I’ll bring my grades up, I promise! And please don’t get mad at Marinette - she hasn’t done anything wrong! She’s one of my best friends! I just want her to be happy!”

Gabriel looked down at his son, stern face unreadable. “Your schedule hasn’t changed much since the beginning of the school year,” Gabriel said, pulling up his schedule. Adrien watched as he scrolled through the last month of photo shoots, various lessons, and appearances. “You mean to tell me you can no longer handle the schedule that you’ve had for years with no difficulty? The only outlying factor I can see that would make you so tired would be your involvement in your friend’s social activities.” He clicked away from the schedule and looked to his son, who went pale. How could he ever explain to him that he was sneaking out to save Paris from an evil villain? He would probably lock all escape routes if he ever knew Adrien was Chat Noir. Maybe even take his ring from him. He would never see Plagg again; never have freedom again. Never see his lady again. His life would be completely over.

Not that he would ever trust his father enough to even consider telling him that in the first place.

“W-well,” Adrien said, “I’ve, uh… been going through a growth spurt lately. It takes a lot of energy out of you.” His father’s expression softened as he looked over Adrien’s frame, as though to verify that he was indeed growing. He was grateful for health class to give him that little tidbit.

Gabriel seemed to consider his response for a moment. “If you need more time to rest until the fatigue passes, I’ll have Nathalie move your schedule around until you’re not so tired all the time.” He then turned to monitor and clicked away the pictures. “I will watch the situation with this girl closely. I don’t want to see your grades slipping anymore, Adrien, or we will have to reconsider homeschooling. Is that understood?”

Adrien swallowed down the lump in his throat. Earlier that evening, the restraints of the world seemed to break away, opening up into a vast array of possibilities he never knew were available before. But he could feel the cage readying to spring around him again. He had to tread carefully now. Even though he longed to throw his hands up and rage against the injustice, scream and yell until his father heard him, or race away and never return to his gilded cage, he knew what he was expected to do.

So he answered Gabriel the only way he knew how. “Yes, father.”


	11. Wild Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I went through all the middle chapters that would be holding me up and revised a lot (moving around events, deleting scenes, rewriting scenes) so I wouldn't be held up every chapter and hopefully I can finally get back to posting chapters quickly until I'm done with the story! It took a lot, then I needed a break because I was a little burnt out, but I'm back in action and really excited for some of the upcoming chapters! That being said, this chapter had to be mostly redone and broken into two parts to set up some story points for later chapters. And then, the fun parts! Anyways, I hope you enjoy it and thank you for your patience!

It took a lot of restraint for Adrien not to slam the door to his room. He paced in place for a few minutes, while Plagg watched him quietly. The small cat had tried saying something, but Adrien gave him a look that silenced him. Adrien considered transforming and burning some of his frustrated energy as Chat Noir, racing through the night - maybe finding a quiet park and beating up a tree with his stick. He considered trashing something in his room - even picked up his globe and held it over his head, but thought better of it. He tried to use the climbing wall to get his mind off of things, but decided it was too risky when he realized he was shaking. He finally settled for simply throwing himself on his bed and burying his face in a pillow.

After a few minutes, he smelled the familiar scent of camembert next to him. Plagg sat by his head, offering him a wedge. “Nothing like eating your sorrows away, right?”

Adrien looked at the kwami for a moment, before finally letting loose a breath and smiling. “Thanks, Plagg.” He sat up in his bed, grabbed the wedge of cheese, and stuffed it in his mouth despite not being hungry. Running his hands through his hair, he looked at his phone notifications. People were asking him about the video. Not many - not yet, at least. But if it was enough to make his dad get involved. He sighed. He hardly wanted to give the video more views, but he had to watch it himself.

To say that it was the rantings of someone unstable would not be far off from the truth. Aside from accusing Marinette of getting in the way of ‘LadyNoir’, she also insulted Marinette’s appearance; called her a “fame whore” - citing Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and both versions of himself as proof; and fabricated an entire relationship between him and Marinette to show that she was “cheating” on him with Chat Noir. And most frustratingly, she nitpicked the entire video of their conversation and their kisses to downplay everything and suggest that Marinette was somehow manipulating him to get the results she wanted. “Notice here how he backs away from her?” she would point out. “She’s the one who goes in first! She even pulls him in, like he didn’t want to kiss her.”

“Wow,” Plagg said as Adrien seethed. “Someone has too much time on her hands.”

Adrien watched it all - every excruciating moment. He made mental notes, at times pausing it just to take a moment and seethe. Finally, after the video was over, he threw down his phone and sat at the computer. He took a quick look at all the notifications he had gotten. Chloe had even sent him a text to see if he was okay because of “that Dupain-Chang” dragging him down.

Adrien used that as fuel as he wrote a response for his Instagram. Plagg watched as he typed furiously. Occasionally, he would mutter, “Um... are you sure that’s wise? That’s probably going to get you in trouble, right? Maybe you shouldn’t write that.” But Adrien continued to type away - far more than he should logistically post - but he wanted to get that all out. Plagg continued to comment occasionally. “Adrien…” he said warningly. “If your father read that, he would ground you for life! He would turn your room into the Bastille!” But Adrien kept typing, occasionally huffing as he wrote more words. “Oh, you can’t put that down. That’s not--” Plagg gasped loudly. “Adrien! I never expected that from you!”

He clicked the last key and shoved away from his computer in a huff. Plagg’s little green eyes looked at him in worry. “I won’t send it,” he said to Plagg.

“Oh, good,” Plagg said as he put his tiny paw over his heart. He was pretty sure the kwami had mentioned that their bodies don’t have real organs, and he learned a lot of his mannerisms from watching humans, but Adrien liked to think that Plagg had a little heart that raced at the thought of him using such strong language. “For a second there, I thought your teenage hormones were going to make you do something crazy like my last last last owner.” He paused to think. “I guess you could say three owners removed? Anyway, he fell in love with this girl from the other side of the river, and--”

“Oh, I’m going to send it eventually,” Adrien said. “I just need to edit it.”

“Adrien, no!” The next hour was a blur of Adrien editing down the general message, and Plagg begging him not to do anything stupid for love. As he calmed down and edited down, the changes to the statement became nicer and more on brand. It was on his fifth edit, that Plagg had finally convinced him to sleep.

He had a restless night, trying to think of positive things - like what he planned to do for his date with Marinette - but he just kept thinking of ways to apologize to her for how crappy other people were being. It was late into the night before he finally fell asleep. He barely managed to drag himself out of bed when his alarm sounded. Sitting on his bed, the memories of the night before slowly crept into his mind, reminding him why he was so tired in the first place.

Calm and collected, Adrien looked over the statement one last time. He made quite a few edits to make sure it was much more representative of the Adrien everyone knew and loved, prepared it as an Instagram post, and went to hit send. Plagg put his tiny paws on Adrien’s finger. “Are you sure you want to send it? It may look good now, but there’s nothing you can say that won’t make your dad upset.”

“I can’t just let Marinette be attacked like that,” he said. Taking a deep breath, he clicked post.

“Great. That bomb has been set off,” Plagg said. Adrien leaned back in his chair. He knew it might upset his father that he said anything at all, but he knew he had made a proper statement. He even looked up samples of what a professional statement would look like. If it was well received, maybe his father would even make a statement in Marinette’s defense. “I guess it’s not all bad. Maybe I should even send your dad some cheese as a thank you. I didn’t have to hear about those kisses all night.”

Adrien’s relief turned to glee as the memories of the night before came flooding back, unencumbered by rage. He immediately went to the Ladyblog. They had posted the interview. He glimpsed at the clock, decided he had enough time, and pressed play.

Alya had done a good job of conducting the interview. While he had hoped to see even a little bit of lovesickness on Marinette’s face that he had been feeling at that moment, he was at least happy to hear that she had nothing but good things to say about Chat Noir. Some familiar things, too, like when she balked at his puns. But mostly, she seemed determined. Very Ladybug of her. She had a mission and sought to focus on it until the end.

It didn’t stop him from reading subtext into all the words she was saying. Sure, the normal person could hear, “Of course, I think he’s a great guy. He’s Chat Noir. He defends our city every day, and Paris is more than lucky to have him,” and just think she was gushing about her admiration for a superhero. But he heard it as, ‘Of course, I think he’s a handsome, sexy, wonderful guy. He’s mine. He defends me whenever I need him, and I’m so lucky he’s in my life.’

When she stated she didn’t want to say too much about their conversation for his privacy’s sake, he heard, “I value him much more than you all do by keeping his thoughts private - so much so that I almost didn’t do this interview that would help people stop villainizing me. He’s that important to me, and I will continue to keep his privacy safely guarded because that’s how much I care about him.” 

When she responded to a question about how the kiss was - that it was nice enough that she went in a second time - he sighed at the knowledge that she did in fact go in for far more than that.

“Casanova,” Plagg said between bites of his morning camembert. (He claimed it differed from his brunch camembert, which was different from his lunch camembert, which was different from his snack camembert, and so on. Adrien bought the damn cheese - he knew they were all the same.) “Aren’t you going to get ready for school? It’s getting late. Unless you plan on skipping, which I’m completely on board with.”

He laughed derisively. “My father would love that,” he said. He was absolutely not going to miss. He was dying to see Marinette. Even if she didn’t know that he was the person he spent a good amount of minutes the night before learning new ways to kiss with, he wanted to see her and talk to her like he had last night. Though, how he could do that last part as Adrien, he didn’t know.

“I’ll get ready in a bit,” he said as he continued watching the interview. He had spent enough time being angry last night, he wanted to just be happy right then. And listening to Marinette say nothing but nice things about him seemed just the cure.

“What do you think of Chat Noir and Ladybug? Are you a shipper?” Alya asked.

Marinette let out a small laugh. “I don’t like to ship actual people. Especially after everything I’ve been accused of because of other people do it. But I hope they are together as partners for a long time - whatever that may bring for them.”

Adrien paused the video. His mind had been so muddled with everything that had happened that he didn’t even give himself time to think about the most damning evidence from the night before. Adrien straightened up as the words rung clear in his head. “She called me kitty last night.”

Plagg was quiet for a moment. Then in an overly breezy voice, he offered, “What else would she call you? You’re a cat-themed superhero. Hasn’t Rena Rouge called you kitty a few times? Didn’t Chloe call you that at least once, as well? Pretty sure villains called you--“

“It was the way she said it,” he said, falling back on his chair. “And the way it made me feel. Just like Ladybug.” He put his hands over his eyes and leaned far back, smiling a dopey smile to himself. “The moment she said it, I heard Ladybug. It has to be her. She has to be my lady.”

“B-but, Multimouse,” Plagg offered.

Adrien uncovered his eyes. That was true. That was the part that had been tripping him up. He frowned to himself. No, he had to be right. There was something there. The way she called him kitty made his heart race in a way it only did when Ladybug said it. He never felt that way when other people said it. When Ladybug called him that, sure she could be teasing him or trying to refocus his attention, but there was a specific way she said it. Not like when any other person called him kitty, like Chloe or… “Rena Rouge,” Adrien said. 

His mind was a conflagration that could not be stamped out.

“Oh, what? You’re going to accuse her of being Rena Rouge now, too?” Plagg said. “Not that I notice these things about humans, but isn’t Rena a lot more…” Plagg moved his paws in an hourglass, “rounder than Ladybug? Like two wheels of camembert placed next to each other.”

“Not her!” Adrien said, his eyes lighting up. “Her kwami!” He grinned widely, turning to the small cat. 

“Trixx,” Plagg corrected.

“Right,” Adrien said, though he did not know what the kwami’s name was before. “That’s why Ladybug’s so brilliant! She had access to all the kwamis’ powers, even yours! The Multimouse thing is the one thing that has been holding me back, but the more I think about it, the more proof I have that she’s Ladybug,” he said while melting into his chair. “She knew I had almost figured it out, I was asking about it. And with Master Fu telling us he would have to take back our miraculous if we found out who each other was, of course she was going to stop me from trying to figure it out. So what does she do?” He sighed in appreciation - Ladybug was so brilliant. Marinette was so brilliant. “She creates an illusion! All so we can keep being Ladybug and Chat Noir together. Because she cares about me! And us as a team. I already suspected it was Marinette before. And I was right! Marinette is... my lady!” He put a hand over his fast-beating heart, sighing in complete contentment.

That had to be it. He knew in his heart he was right. Everything fit. Everything fit so perfectly. The love of his life had been sitting right behind him that entire time.

And, wow, was she different in her two different personas. But he would think people would have trouble telling that he was Chat Noir, so why would it be different for Ladybug? And her favorite color was pink? Pink? And here he just assumed it was red because of her costume. She even told him she preferred the other necklace to the red and gold one. She liked polka dots - how cute was that? He thought he was going to burst with all the pieces finally coming together. There was simply no room in his brain for all the new information to fit.

What did this mean? What did this mean? Ladybug would never want him knowing that she was Marinette. He wasn’t even trying to figure it out - it just happened. Surely, she would be beyond upset with him if she knew he knew who she was. But how to create that opening? How to reveal himself and make her love him as Adrien rather than see him as just a friend? And — wow, he had figured it out, and his heart would not stop racing. It had to be it. That had to be it!

Adrien realized there was silence in the room. He expected Plagg to get all panicky, to deny the truth, to make him question it more. When he heard nothing from the small cat, he looked to the side. Plagg was just watching him - glaring was probably a more accurate word - as he chewed over yet another piece of cheese. With a full mouth, he muttered, “It’s always Ladybug with you, isn’t it?”

“... what?”

“Not long ago, Marinette was just a friend.”

“Well… Yeah. I thought-“ 

“Even when I confronted you about it, she was just a friend.”

“She...is my friend.”

“And now the only reason you’re interested in her is because you think she’s Ladybug.”

Adrien shot up in his seat. “That’s not true!” he said. “I’ve always loved Marinette. But-“ 

“You turned her down when she said she loved Chat Noir. In favor of who, again?” 

“But I couldn’t have been in love with two girls at the same time,” he argued. “So of course Marinette is a friend. And she’s not even interested in me as Adrien.” Plagg stared deadpan at the boy. Adrien furrowed his brow and leaned in close. “You’re just saying this because you don’t want me to know.”

“Hey, I’ve already tried to tell you she’s not Ladybug, but you won’t listen to me. Might as well mess with you as much as possible if you’re going to continue down this path. Hey! Remember when you thought the wrong Ladybug was the real Ladybug just because she wanted to kiss you? Sounds familiar, right? I guess at least Marinette isn’t trying to get your ring, because you’d have lost that long ago.” He tossed the last of his cheese up and swallowed it whole. “Oh, hey! Remember when you almost kissed a wax figure of Ladybug because she also wanted to kiss you? Wow, this happens a lot with you, doesn’t it? Anyone who wants to kiss you must be the real Ladybug.” Plagg smiled deviously. “But when Marinette wanted to kiss you when she thought you were a wax statue as Adrien, that was a no-go. True love right there.”

Adrien glared at him and sighed. “Why do you have to be like this?”

There was a soft knock on the door. He heard Natalie’s voice call, “Adrien? Are you decent?” He looked at the time - if he waited any longer, he was going to risk being late.

“Uh, just a minute!” Quieter to Plagg, he said, “We’ll discuss this later.” And rushed to get ready for school. 

~~~~

Tikki triple checked that Marinette had set up her alarms the night before. So that morning, when she had slammed off her bed alarm, the phone alarm that was plugged in near her computer was the trick to get her to drag herself out of bed. The morning passed in a fog as she tried to wake up. Tikki had laid out her clothes for the day and gotten all her items ready on her desk. Marinette smiled as she saw her necklace laid out for her, admiring it as she placed it around her neck, before continuing with her routine. 

She picked up her phone, intending to check her notifications quickly. 

And then she froze.

The pit of nerves in her stomach acted up as she remembered what had transpired the night before. Now, looking at the results of the video against her, a knot formed in her stomach. She looked at the email previews, and the knot tightened more.

“You should do what Alya said,” Tikki mentioned as she looked over her shoulder. She furrowed her brows, a frown on her face. “Put a block on them.”

“You mean ‘block them’?” Marinette said, suppressing a laugh. “I’m going to put up more filters, at least.” She sat at her computer and tried to filter out extra words. The more she tried to figure out which words she should block, the more emails she would have to read. A lot of them seemed like angry kids who just didn’t like what she had done. There were the ones who misspelled “die” so they could get past the filters, as well as misspelling other choice words. There were also ones who were making fun of her appearance - critiquing her pigtails, her weight, her ethnicity, even. Her stomach clenched when she found a few racist words she didn’t even know existed until she googled what they meant. All added to the list.

“Marinette,” Tikki said gently. “You shouldn’t be reading these. You should get going.” The girl felt like she had come out of a fog. She felt sick. But mostly she felt stunned. These people didn’t even know her. Of course, no one knew she was Ladybug. She had spent so long being loved by strangers, the opposite feeling took her more by surprise than she had expected. The knot in her stomach seemed more like a rock just sitting there, feeding only her anxiety and leaving the rest of her starved. An unknown terror had descended upon her and was waiting to tear her to pieces.

There were threats against her body - vile words that made her wonder how safe it would be for her to walk alone at night as Marinette. There were accusations against her personality - accusing her of using or manipulating the people around her. She didn’t force Chat Noir to kiss her - what a stupid thing to accuse her of. But she was the one who took the initiative on two separate occasions. The way they twisted the situation to fit their own narrative was poisoning the memory for her and making her disgusted with her own actions.

They would tie her race into it like that somehow explained why she was such an awful person. And some directed that rage at her mom - who never hurt a fly - if not directing some of those comments towards her, then asking how a mother can let her daughter be such a slut.

She wanted to be angry, but she was just shocked. It felt like they were all there with her, in the room, pointing and accusing and vindicated because they were right in their assumptions. That she was, in fact, worthless and a waste of space. That she needed to be taught a lesson or put in her place in whatever way they felt appropriate. Adrien could throw a stone and find ten girls who would be better for him than she ever could dream of being. She wasn’t worthy of Chat Noir. Some going so far as suggesting she wasn’t even worthy of life - an anomaly in creation that needed to be destroyed, and they chose to destroy her with words.

Marinette stared at her screen as the words all mingled together in a noxious soup being poured down her throat.

“Marinette?” Tikki asked, looking at her with concern.

Marinette forced herself to focus on Tikki. She forced herself to smile. “I... know. I’m going to be late for school.” She got up, moved around the room, grabbing her things with little thought.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to school today,” Tikki suggested.

“I will not miss class because of this,” Marinette said. She tried not to think of what she would do if the other students ganged up on her again, though rolling up in a ball seemed the best choice. If they thought so little of her yesterday to crowd her personal space and ask her misplaced questions, who was to say they wouldn’t do worse now that they thought even less of her? “I can’t just sit here and keep reading about how the world hates me.” Tikki watched her walk to the door to her room with a purpose, before flying into her purse.

Marinette didn’t remember walking through the apartment. She didn’t remember walking down the stairs. She didn’t know how she crossed the street or if she did so safely. But she did remember the buzz of her phone notifications.

She huffed out a nervous breath as she took the phone out of her pocket. Another four emails, none of them looking good if the title was anything to say. She adjusted her filter. But then she had to go through the emails and delete them. She searched for the words to add to her filter and deleted the new emails she had that matched the criteria.

Someone bumped into her. Marinette looked up to someone looking back at her before they walked up the school stairs. There was laughing to her left, but she didn’t want to look. It was as though they had read the emails themselves Part of her wondered if maybe they sent them.

More notifications. Two more emails. She was wondering if there was some sort of instructions being passed around on how to harass someone because they were doing a good job so far. The words didn’t even have to be crass or cruel; people just needed to sound sure of themselves. She just had to read them to hit their mark. People needed Marinette to know how much they hated her.

Delete, delete, delete. Settings, edit, add new words to the filter. And another email popped up. The subject line let her know just how stupid they thought she was. She couldn’t imagine the rest of the email was any better. Another notification. Marinette didn’t even need to read it - the notification sound alone made her stomach clench and her breath quicken.

“Hey.” Marinette jumped, suddenly face to face with Mylene’s deep brown eyes. She seemed concerned. “Is everything okay?” Marinette stared dumbly at the girl before another notification caught her attention. She looked down, two tears falling onto the phone screen. When had she started crying? “Hey, it’s okay,” Mylene said. She reached to someone standing behind Marinette.

Marinette turned to see Ivan towering over her, looking concerned as well. He handed Mylene a tissue, who gently dabbed Marinette’s cheeks with it. “Thanks,” she said, her voice quavering. “I... I just…” She looked down at her phone again.

“Come on,” Mylene said, putting a hand on her back. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette breathed, sniffling as she wiped her tears with her hand. She didn’t want to go to school anymore. She didn’t want to go home and have to explain to her parents why she was staying home. But where would she go? It dawned on her that people knew her face. How would she escape the harassment? Her face turned red as she tried to stop the tears. “They’ll mob me again.”

“Not with Ivan here,” Mylene said, keeping a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“People think I look mean if they don’t know me,” he said with a gentle smile. “They’ll keep away.”

Marinette suppressed a sob as the tears flowed down her cheeks despite her resistance. Crying at school. She might as well go home and cry in bed. At least that would be less embarrassing.

But as Mylene walked in front of her, holding her hand to lead her to the locker room, and Ivan stood tall behind her, daring anyone to cross him, Marinette had to admit - at least her friends felt safe. They gave her a place to cry safely. She was glad. At least for that moment, she was surrounded by people who didn’t hate her.


	12. Good Enough

Adrien raced into the school, feeling a modicum of relief that there were still students milling about. He wasn’t late, at least. He slowed to a walk as he made his way to the stairs, only to stop when he saw a small group of his classmates talking outside of the locker room. Alya looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Adrien raised his hand to wave, but she frantically turned to Nino. They whispered to each other, Nino glancing back to Adrien before Alya pulled him back to focus on her. Nino nodded, before turning to Adrien. He made a big show of waving as he ran up to him.

“Hey, Dude!” he said, clapping a hand on his shoulder before spinning Adrien around towards the entrance of the school. “So, uh, how’s that math homework treating you? Sucks, right? None of the answers added up to whole numbers.”

“Uh... yeah, they did,” Adrien said. The forced smile on Nino’s face wavered as his eyes widened in horror. Adrien tried not to laugh. “We can go over the answers before lunch. I’ll help you out with that,” he turned to head back towards the stairs.

“Yeah, that’d be aweso—uh-no!” Nino tried to lead Adrien back out towards the doors to go outside. “Why don’t we go over them now!”

“Because class is starting?” Adrien said, slipping away from his friend’s grasp and turning back towards the locker room. “Why are you acting so…?”

He saw Marinette come through the locker room doors. He paused, his stomach lurching at the sight of her. But the sudden wave of happiness turned to concern as he saw her difference in demeanor. Even from afar, he could see something wasn’t right. She was slouched over a little. Her face was splotchy. Her gait was all wrong. Even so, when Mylene and Rose led her up the stairs, talking happily to her, Ivan and Juleka following, she tried to smile. Tried, but the smile failed to reach her eyes.

Adrien took a step, only to have Nino step in front of him, forcing a smile on his face once again. “You know what we can also do?” He kept moving in front of Adrien every time he tried to move around him. “Ultimate Mecha Strike 3, after school, you and me. It’s been ages.”

“I... yeah, that sounds great,” Adrien said distractedly. “What’s wrong with Marinette?” he finally asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Nino said, putting his hands behind his back. “You know. Girl stuff, I guess. Not that kind of girl stuff, but like, when you’re a girl, and things make you sad. But not super sad! Just gets you down a bit, and you know--”

“Nino,” Adrien said, sharper than he had ever spoken to his friend. “What happened?”

Nino looked back to Alya, who had been watching from a distance. He stammered, trying to figure out a solution, but Alya raced over to save him from floundering. “One job,” she said to him. “You just had to distract him.”

“I tried! He’s really smart!”

“Guys,” Adrien said, looking up to the classroom door where Marinette had vanished. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“Adrien,” Alya said, putting a hand up to calm him down. “Everything’s fine. She just didn’t want an audience to see her upset! That’s all.”

Adrien felt a weight bear down on his chest. “Didn’t want an audience? Half the class seemed to be involved! Was she crying?” Even saying the words made his heartache. He had never seen Marinette cry. And it was because of him. Because people were so fascinated with him in every form.

Alya looked to Nino before she put her hands together. “I saw your post,” she said. “It was very sweet. I’m sure she hasn’t seen it yet - her Instagram’s turned off and all.”

Adrien thought of the LadyNoir videos. “They’ve been emailing her?” he asked. Alya cringed, then nodded. “How bad is it?”

“Not horrible,” She said, clasping her hands in front of her. “But enough. I have her phone again. She was trying to filter out her email, but she had to read some of it to figure out what to filter, and…” She frowned. “She was kind of stuck in a vicious cycle. I mean, I’m used to dealing with hate mail. I’ve been getting a bit of backlash from all this, too, but I have people and words blocked, so I’m prepared for this. Still, the stuff they were sending her...it was pretty bad.”

He looked sadly up to the door, wondering how awful it must have been to deal with that. “I can help her,” he said. Nino stopped him as he tried to take a step forward.

“She doesn’t want you seeing her cry, dude,” he said. Alya smacked Nino on the chest. Nino put his hands out in question. “What? It’s true!”

“She’s embarrassed,” Alya said quickly. “No one wants to cry at school, right?”

“Maybe don’t make a big deal about it,” Nino suggested.

“You know, she’s feeling a little vulnerable right now. People are dicks. I’m sure you’ve heard some of it yourself, right?”

Adrien just began to shake his head when Nino continued with, “We’re all supporting her. She just REALLY doesn’t want it from you.”

“What?”

“Nino!” Alya said. 

“Is she mad at me?” he asked. He felt sick to his stomach. What if she hated him again? They targeted her specifically because he was a famous model. She didn’t have to get involved when he was running away from his fans - the very event that had people label her as his girlfriend in the first place. He was the one asking for her help.

“What I mean, is,” Nino corrected, “Is, uh, um… you see…” Then he smiled broadly as Adrien could practically see a lightbulb illuminate over his head. “She feels guilty about getting you involved.”

Alya slumped down and sighed. She gave Nino a reproachful look before explaining, “Fine. Okay. If you must know, among everything else, she is a little afraid of how you’ll react. She’s already feeling vulnerable. Don’t even mention the crying. And I don’t know, I’m sure she knows you saw the video, but she’s going to be mortified when she finds out you _actually_ watched it.” She stopped for a minute. He could see her process a thought. “Oh, are you okay, though? People aren’t bothering you, are they?”

Adrien shrugged. “No more than usual. I’m okay, Alya. I’m worried about Marinette.” He looked up to the classroom, wondering how nervous she must be at the thought of him being upset with her. How could he possibly be upset with her? “You know her best. I’ll do whatever you tell me.” He clasped his hands in front of his chest. “Please, the last thing I want to do is make it worse.”

Alya looked to Nino. They gave each other a knowing smile before Alya turned back to him. “Okay, little chick. Here’s how to handle your girl.”

~~~~

Marinette tried not to think about how bad the situation could have been if she didn’t have a shoulder to cry on. The kwamis were already nervous about the whole situation, and the idea of falling into Hawk Moth’s hands if she were akumatized. And here she was, in the middle of some of the worst turmoil of her life. She was supposed to be protecting them, not the other way around. She hated that so many people saw her cry in the locker room, but she was eternally thankful for their help.

Hiding in a corner, trying to be as quiet as possible, with her friends protectively circling her - it was a nice reminder that not everyone hated her. Alya had looked through the messages that had come in and uttered some choice words under her breath as she worked on making the filter as impenetrable as possible. Marinette cried on Mylene’s shoulder as Juleka rubbed her back, and Rose fretted nearby with only a single tissue to offer. Even Chloe, who heard the commotion and came around the corner to see what was going on, managed to not kick Marinette when she was down. She just huffed and walked away.

After their trek to the classroom, Mylene kept her company sitting in Alya’s seat while they waited for class to start. “You’re all such great friends,” Marinette said. “You should come by the bakery tomorrow. I’ll ask my parents to make some extra treats for everyone. Let me know your favorite pastries. Maybe by then, I can...show my face in public again?”

“You can do that now,” Mylene said, patting her hand. “Don’t let those jerks make you think everyone is like that. Alya was telling me there’s been some really good comments on the Ladyblog!”

Marinette sighed. Her chest felt tight with misplaced emotion. She tried to remind herself that she had something to look forward to - her date. Though, she was wondering if it was even worth it. What if they got caught on more cameras? What if someone recognized her? How alone could they be, really? Marinette didn’t want to spend her time just watching over her shoulder. And how could they possibly have a good time when she felt like her world was crashing down around her?

She looked down at her desk. She should have been excited about a date, not dreading it. It wasn’t Chat Noir’s fault - he shouldn’t be punished for it.

 _‘He deserves better than you._ ‘ The words she had read crept into her mind. Remembering having unintentionally stood Chat Noir up and how upset he was with her made Marinette wonder if the words were true. How long had she turned him down in favor of another boy who never noticed her that way? Yes, she always cared about him. She always liked when he called her his lady. Being forced to be close so often was hardly something she minded. She didn’t even mind the puns most of the time. And he would get so happy when she would say puns in return. And yet, she kept turning him down and breaking his heart.

Marinette put her head in her hands and tried not to groan in frustration. The people who told her she wasn’t good enough for Chat Noir also wanted her to be with him, even if they didn’t know it. They just might get what they want if they kept harassing her… and lose what they want at the same time.

The room around her got quiet. Marinette looked up, expecting the teacher to have walked in. Instead, her eyes met with the familiar green eyes of the boy standing in the doorway. She sat up stiffly. She had not considered it before, but everyone in the class had probably seen the video that spread the rumors about the both of them. Yes, she worried about what he would think, but her mind was forcing her to remember how embarrassing it was to receive a necklace in front of the entire class. And now, her classmates knew to watch for a show. They knew the two had just been smashed together in the public eye, like a child pressing her two dolls together and telling them to kiss.

Adrien seemed to hesitate as well, glancing to the rest of the class, before his eyes fell again on Marinette.

Mylene got up to give them some privacy. Marinette grabbed her sweater. “Please don’t leave me,” she whispered harshly. 

“Uuh,” Mylene said. Alya, who had apparently been behind Adrien, gently pushed him forward from the spot he was rooted in, causing him to move towards her. Alya walked up to her seat and gently pried Marinette’s hand from their friend’s sweater so Mylene could make her escape.

Adrien put his things down, sat down, stayed focused on Marinette. He had his usual gentle smile. She wondered if she looked like a spooked horse ready to sprint, because Adrien approached her with a guardedness she had never seen before. She didn’t know what to expect, but she knew whatever it was, there was no way to avoid facing it in front of everyone.

His eyes darted over her face quickly, taking in what she was sure was her mess of a face, her childish pigtails, the stupid expression she was probably making at that moment. Every imperfection listed in great detail by the masses was now being witnessed first hand by her perfect Adrien. She was no one, and stupid to think that she could ever win a guy like him over. The prickling of tears threatening to fall made her afraid to blink.

“No, it’s okay,” he said quickly. She flinched. Of course, he saw she was about to cry. Of course, he would be nice about it. She hadn’t even said a word to him yet, and she had already messed it up. “Everything is okay. I… saw what they were trying to do to you last night,” he explained. “And I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds, but I kind of wrote something in response.”

Marinette sat stiffly. He looked uneasy. Marinette knew she wasn’t acting herself. She had her anxieties around Adrien, but she had never actually been afraid of him. It wasn’t his fault. But he was important to the world. She was not. They had exposed her as being conniving and whorish and duplicitous. She was just a baker’s daughter who smelled perpetually of sweetness she would never have in her own personality. And she had just dragged him down so easily with her by association alone.

He really did deserve better than her.

Adrien pulled out his phone. She didn’t want to take it, staring at it in dread. Alya nudged her gently. “It’s good, trust me.”

Marinette took a deep breath and took the phone. She was careful not to touch his fingers. He probably didn’t want to touch her, anyway. 

She looked up at him once more. He just smiled - so very Adrien of him. She let out a shaky breath and started reading.

_“While I appreciate the concern people have about me after a video that came out today, your concern is not necessary. This video accused a good friend of mine of several things, including ‘playing with my heart’ and ‘cheating on me’. I want to go on record saying that none of what this girl is accusing my friend of is true. In fact, Marinette and I were never a couple to begin with._

_“Marinette is one of the kindest, smartest, and most resilient people I know. I have the pleasure of being her friend - one of the first friendships I ever had after my first day of school. We’ve cared for each other ever since, and I’ve relied on her more times than I can count, and hope that she can say the same for me._

_“There are some photos circulating of me and her where people had assumed she was my girlfriend. The only reason she was there to begin with was because I had asked her for help to escape some fans who were a little too overzealous at the chance of meeting me. She was at the fashion show because my father found her hat design to be the best in our school, and I was wearing it on the runway. We’re in photos together a lot because we hang out with friends and go to school together. There is no secret relationship or heartache involved - sometimes the story between two people can be just that simple._

_“So don’t worry about me. I’m just a guy with kind and talented friends who look out for me. The idea that people think my friend could be my girlfriend or is interested in me in such a way is honestly flattering. The fact that she kissed a superhero in an akuma attack to help our superheroes defend our city is just part of living in Paris at this point. I mean, can we all remember Zombizou? Or how Glaciator didn’t attack couples in love? It’s really not as big of a story that everyone thinks it is, and Marinette just wants to get back to her life at this point._

_“Please don’t attack her for something she had no control over and was thrown into the limelight for. I see how it’s affecting her, and while she is my strong and resilient friend, it’s more than anyone should be expected to handle. She is not in any way the person who the video made her out to be. Her only crime is being kind, smart, considerate, beautiful, and creative. She deserves much better than what people have been saying about her. And I’ll always stand by her side to help her just like she has always been to help me.”_

She smiled as she looked it over, raising up to a proper seated position. As she finished the last of the statement, she felt a smile bloom on her face. Marinette looked up at Adrien, trying not to let the words others had said echo in her head. She tried to focus on being called beautiful for all his fans to read. “That’s… one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. Thank you, Adrien.”

Their eyes lingered on each other for a few moments. Her stomach, which had earlier felt like a boulder was sitting in it, now filled with kamikaze butterflies crashing around. Her head felt light. For a moment, just a flicker of a moment, Marinette thought maybe Adrien could think of her as more than a friend.

But that was the kind of thinking that got him involved in that mess to begin with. And he didn’t need to be swept away with her in the wave of hate she was experiencing. ‘Besides,’ she thought as she handed his phone back to him, ‘He made it obvious to everyone that I’m just a great friend.’ But that could be enough for her. She loved him as a friend, too, after all.

“I know it’s hard,” he said gently, “People are probably hounding you right now. But try not to worry about what the other people are saying. I know the truth. I know who you are.” He gave her a knowing smile. “And the girl who posted that video has no idea what she’s talking about. If you need any help, I’m here for you.”

Marinette’s face heated up as she tried to contain her emotions. She put a hand to her mouth. Great, now she was going to cry again. And in front of Adrien, this time.

Adrien looked panicked, turning to Alya. Alya rubbed Marinette’s back. “Hey, it’s okay, we’re all here for you.” A flurry of feet raced over to her. Her friends were by her side, each cooing some form of reassurance.

“I know,” Marinette said, taking a deep, shaky breath. _Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry again._ She let out a breath. “Everyone of you has been so sweet. I’m sorry you’re getting dragged into this.”

There was a scoff across the room. “You should be,” Chloe said before anyone else could say anything.

“Chloe,” Adrien admonished.

“But it’s all so ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. All she did was kiss a guy, and a bunch of rabid fans jumped down her throat? They’re all _that jealous_ the cat didn’t fall for the bug? Please! Like, hello? She wasn’t interested in her second-rate hero. People need to get over themselves.”

Everyone stared at Chloe. Marinette took the moment of stunned silence to wipe the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. It was Alya who spoke. “You… do realize you’re defending Marinette, right?”

Chloe scoffed. “As if! I’m defending my dear, sweet Adrikins,” she said, giving him a fond smile. “It’s not fair you have to get involved because of Dupain-Cheng.”

The class murmured a collective, “Oooh,” with Alix saying, “that makes more sense.”

“Uh…” Adrien said, looking at Chloe with a confused look on his face. “Okay? But it’s not Marinette’s fault, either.”

“No?” Chloe said. She turned to Marinette. “Take a look around a room before you go kissing boys in private. Unless you _want_ the attention. Cameras are everywhere! I don’t expect anything from that dumb cat, but you’re supposed to be smart!” She made a big show of shrugging. “I guess it doesn’t matter, anyway. Anyone who watched your interview can clearly see you’re in love with that cat and not my Adrikins.”

Marinette’s head whipped over to Alya. Her eyes were wide, as well. “I swear, it doesn’t! I even ran it by Nino! Right, Nino?” 

Nino seemed stunned to have been so suddenly addressed. “I didn’t know that’s what you were asking for,” he said. “How was I supposed to know what to look for?”

Alya gave him a look before looking back at Marinette. “People see what they want to see. Don’t even listen to Chloe.”

“Um, I’m right here,” Chloe said with an attitude. But she still had a smirk on her face that she had struck a chord.

“What matters,” Alya said, bringing Marinette’s focus back to her. She had pulled up her phone. “Is that the interview did what it was supposed to do. It’s really blowing up. More people read my blog than that insane girl’s blog, and more people are just fans of the heroes without needing to see them in love.” She showed Marinette her phone. “People are defending you now. Most people didn’t even know you were getting harassed. Hell, there’s even people messaging me seeing if they can help you.” She scrolled through the comments below the video so Marinette could get a glimpse.

_Poor girl. She doesn’t deserve to be attacked like that! People need to stop being so rude. If someone has to shut down their Insta, you know it’s bad!_

_I just watched the video! I used to be a fan of the LadyNoir blog but I don’t think I can keep reading it after that. Chat Noir has a right to love whoever he wants, and he’d never approve of people harassing his girlfriend!_

_I go to school with her! She’s really sweet. A bunch of kids in my school have been akumatized - how is this so different?_

_Can we stop being dicks to people? Come on, everyone! Let’s act a little nicer to strangers instead of trying to turn everything into a scandal._

_She’s cute! Chat Noir has good taste, lol._

_Why couldn’t I get chained to Ladybug? Some people have all the luck._

Marinette had a funny smile on her face at those last comments. It made her feel a little better to remember that it was only one girl who sent her followers. Not a lot better - it still hurt. She felt wounded. But the feeling of being trapped in a cage lifted. At least there was some hope that she wouldn’t have to live in the foreseeable future in fear.

Alya put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “I know that stupid girl threw a bomb your way, but there’s many people willing to throw themselves on it for you. People you don’t know are getting you down, but people you don’t know are determined to help you, too. And there are more of us than there are of them.” Alya smiled encouragingly. “We’ve got this.”

Marinette realized she was smiling again, too. “You’re right,” she said. She looked to her friends and her classmates, some of whom looked completely confused as to what had even transpired. “And thank you all. I was in a bad place this morning, but you guys really helped me out.”

Ms. Bustier walked briskly into the classroom, huffing as she hurried to her desk. “Sorry for being late, class,” she placed her things on her desk. “Let’s all take our seats and get our day started!” Marinette received a few pats on the back as students went back to her seat. She let out a sigh, then looked forward. Adrien was looking at her still, a considering look on his face. Like he was trying to see something.

She tilted her head to the side, her hand finding her way to her necklace, fidgeting with it nervously. He blushed when he realized he was staring. Then he gave her a shy smile before turning back to the front of the class. She didn’t know what that look meant. But she was far too emotionally exhausted to try to figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, I've been dying to work on the date chapter.....s. Possibly chapters. I feel like it needs to be longer after the anguish I put y'all though.


	13. Lovely Interlude

“Why are you fixing yourself up?” Plagg asked, watching Adrien from the corner of the room. “You know it will all come undone the moment you transform.”

“I know,” he said, though he hadn’t really thought of that. “But I just want to look nice for Marinette. She was so upset this morning. I want her to have a good night. It’s the least I can do.” All he could think about most of the day was how her eyes welled up with tears when she looked at him, and how she seemed afraid that he was going to yell at her or something.

“Yeah, it hurts to see a kid like that upset,” Plagg agreed. He actually looked sad at the thought. Adrien’s mind drifted to Marinette being Ladybug. Plagg would care about her, right? The kwami’s opinions on people rarely mattered too much to him, but it mattered to him now. Plagg had to care for Marinette if she were indeed Ladybug. She’d be Tikki’s owner, after all. Though the small cat rarely brought her up, the fact that he had a nickname for her signified some level of affection.

Marinette would also have used his miraculous once - Plagg seemed pretty thrilled after that experience. He’d also have spent been with Marinette for the small amount of time Adrien had renounced him in New York. He tried to shake off those bad memories before they festered. Tonight was about being there for Marinette. He was going to take her mind off of the trouble he’d caused her, and they would just enjoy each other’s company. The two of them against the world, just like always.

Plagg lazily floated down towards Adrien. “Soooo… Did you think of what we talked about earlier?”

“Yeah,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant. He didn’t want to tell Plagg just how sure he was that he was right - 99.98 percent sure, to be exact. He didn’t want Plagg to talk him out of it again. “And you’re wrong. I’ve always cared about Marinette. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. Because it didn’t feel the same. Not like with Ladybug. But it’s a good kind of difference. And I want that.”

“Ugh, finally,” Plagg said. “It was so obvious you have a thing for her. I just wanted to make sure you knew.” Adrien looked over to Plagg in surprise. “What? I can have a heart, too. And besides, if you’re going to get in a relationship with anyone, it should be the baker’s daughter.” He sighed wistfully. “Sometimes I have dreams about never-ending bread for my mountains of cheese.”

“You’re not going to put her parents out of business with your gluttony,” Adrien said, undoing the last adjustments he made to his clothing and looking in the mirror. ‘ _ It will be replaced by a black leather suit, anyway,’ _ he reminded himself. “You make it sound like you brought up the subject because you’re afraid I’ll hurt Marinette.”

“She’s a good kid,” he said. “And if you hurt her, her father can pulverize you. Again. And I kind of like having you around.”

Adrien smiled at Plagg. Part of him wanted to think that maybe he was a little protective of Marinette  _ because  _ she was Tikki’s owner. Then he remembered that would make her Master Ladybug to the small kwami. Plagg seemed to have a decent amount of respect for Master Fu. That the little cheese-loving Kwami would be protective of the new Master of the miracle box warmed his heart.

He couldn’t think about that then. He had to remember who he was around Marinette; what he’d seen as which persona. Sure, Marinette and Ladybug may be the same person, but if that were true, then he had done just as much slipping up around her as she had around him. The memory of the way she called him “kitty” made the sides of his lips quirk upwards.

He had no idea how she’d react to know that he was Chat Noir. After her reaction that day when she first saw him, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Marinette hardly seemed afraid of anything. He was the one exception. And he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.

Was she intimidated by him because he was famous? Because they had interests in related industries? Maybe the fact that he was rich was intimidating to her. He had some interesting conversations with Nino about their wealth differences - while those things often impressed Nino, there were times it seemed like he might have been a little intimidated by how much things in Adrien’s life cost.

Or maybe it was even because of his father.

His father had upset Nino so much that he became akumatized. He was a famous fashion designer who could make or break Marinette’s career aspirations. Even Adrien was often afraid of his father. The way Gabriel looked at him that day after he had read Adrien’s statement nearly made the boy lose his lunch. But Gabriel said nothing - just gave him a look and walked away with a low grumble.

Adrien felt uneasy. If he looked at it from an outside perspective, his life  _ was  _ pretty intimidating to people. When Alya prepared him that morning to talk to her, she warned him that Marinette always pictured catastrophes in her head. What if she was afraid of what disasters he’d bring upon her if she rubbed him the wrong way? His stomach tightened at the thought. He would do anything to make her trust him as Adrien as she did as Chat Noir.

He looked up at Plagg. The cat was looking at him curiously. Adrien cleared his throat. He had to think of those things later.

“Alright, Plagg. Claws out!” 

~~~~

Marinette opened up the hatch to her porch, took a quick peek around, and closed it again. He had said he would be there at night - he didn’t say when. She wished she had thought to ask. 

She sighed to herself. Chat Noir shouldn’t make her nervous. But after an exhausting day where she focused on keeping her emotions level and trying not to check her muted email notifications, she didn’t have the energy to fight off her nerves. She instead busied herself with finishing her homework; putting together an outfit that would be cold-ready, dressy, yet casual; and trying very, very hard not to overthink every interaction between her and Adrien that day.

Kaalki floated up, inspecting Marinette’s outfit, and waving a hoof dismissively. “I still think a dress would be far more appropriate.”

“For jumping around on rooftops?” Marinette asked. “That sounds like a good way to make a spectacle of myself.”

“I’ve been studying your current fashions,” she said, drifting over to the computer and pressing enter. The screen lit up with googled images of dress wear. “I believe that is what leggings are made for.”

“It’s still terrible optics,” Marinette said as she sat in her chair and blew out a nervous breath. “Same reason I should keep the pigtails - hard to enjoy yourself when your hair is whipping in your face.”

“Yes, but,” Kaalki said, “you look glorious with your mane down.”

“Hair,” Marinette corrected.

“And he’s certain to go head over heels once he sees you like that.”

“Hair stays up,” Marinette said again. “And I don’t need him falling head over heels for me - he already does that for Ladybug. We’ll leave that for her.”

Tikki flew up and giggled at Kaalki’s disapproval. “Just let her be,” she said. “Let her enjoy the night while being comfortable!”

Kaalki let out a dramatic sigh. “I suppose if comfort is what you’re looking for, we can get you some pajamas.” Marinette frowned. Tikki laughed before clearing her throat and giving Kaalki a reproachful look. The little horse conceded with a small smile. “But for a casual yet dressed-up look, I must say this  _ does  _ do an excellent job.”

Marinette smiled sadly, looking away. Try as she might, the thoughts of the day were still plaguing her. Between that, the awkward school day, and Alya suggesting that Adrien was trying to get in with her before she was officially “off the market”, she just didn’t know what to think anymore. What was she hoping to accomplish with this night out? Where did that put Adrien? How would any of this work?

“Are you not happy with it?” Kaalki asked, shaking Marinette out of her thoughts.

“She’s had a long day,” Tikki explained.

“Why, Master Marinette,” Kaalki said, “Whatever is the problem?”

“Ugh, it’s too much to talk about,” she said, folding her arms on her desk and laying her head down. “I’m not even sure why I’m doing this.” She looked over to the box of pastries she had carefully snuck upstairs when her parents weren’t looking so she could feed the boy coming to her balcony that night.

“I know a lot happened today,” Tikki said, “but you do like Chat Noir, don’t you?”

“I - well, yeah! That’s part of the problem!” she admitted, before blushing. “I shouldn’t be meeting with him. I shouldn’t be encouraging this. I shouldn’t be kissing him  _ in my bed _ !”

Kaalki gasped. “What intrigue!” She looked to Tikki for answers, but Tikki waved the questions away.

“Are you afraid it’s going to get in the way of being Ladybug?” she asked.

“How am I supposed to be Ladybug or function as Marinette when I have to worry about him discovering who I am? Without being worried if I go on a date with him that someone might see? That the wrong people might see? That more people are going to talk and I’m going to get more than the fans of the LadyNoir blog after me? This is going to be a disaster!”

“Marinette,” Tikki said patiently, “You haven’t even tried to go on a date with him yet. And… while I agree there’s always going to be a risk, you also deserve to be happy. You can use tonight to gauge how risky this could be! And you know that Chat Noir will be careful.”

“He wasn’t careful when it came to the video,” Marinette said bitterly.

“Neither of you expected that,” Tikki said. “But we know it’s a risk now, and we can be more careful from here on out.”

Marinette frowned. She sat up, crossing her arms. “He just completely gave up on Ladybug. He’s fickle.”

“Ladybug turned him down! Many times. He was bound to end up with someone else, eventually.”

“He didn’t ‘end up with me’,” Marinette said, using air quotes. “We haven’t even gone on a date. It’s just a couple of kisses. People do that all the time, right? It doesn’t mean so much, right?” Tikki gave her a look. “Okay, yeah, it meant a lot - to everyone, apparently. But that doesn’t mean we have to do anything about it... right? I can go back to being a relatively obscure citizen of Paris, and Chat can go back to being Ladybug’s partner. It’s not like he has to come to my balcony, you know? Or be in my room.”

“I think you’d miss him.”

Marinette forced a laugh. “Why would you say that, Tikki?”

“Because you’re very clearly thinking about him. You get far off looks on your face a lot more often lately that aren’t all Adrien related.”

“You packed a box of pastries for him,” Kaalki added.

“And you spent a lot of time trying to find something to wear.”

Marinette blushed. She sighed and collapsed into her chair. “This is stupid! This is silly! I don’t have feelings for my partner! We defend the city together! He’s saved me countless times, I’ve saved him. I can’t even tell you the number of times we’ve defeated Mr. Pigeon together! And sure, it’s nice to get to know him when he’s not constantly asking me out, and I don’t have to feel like I’m leading him on if I just want to talk to him for a while. And okay, so we shared a few kisses. We’ve also shared a lot of non-physical intimate moments with each other -  _ as friends do. _ And I can totally cut this off at any time! It’s not like I was wishing and hoping for a date!

“And I don’t think about him in the same way I do Adrien. I mean, yeah, lately, I’ve thought more about him because of the whole kissing thing, but that doesn’t mean I’m attracted to him, right? Although, he has that soft blonde hair and those green eyes. Though, I guess that’s the kwami magic making his eyes look like that. It’s still nice, though. And you know, I never really got to appreciate how soft his hair is with my suit on, but it’s nice to just… touch his hair as Marinette, you know?”

She pointed at the two kwamis giving her a dead-pan stare. “You know what this is? It’s just like a really…  _ close…  _ bonding session! Like how business people go on retreats to get to know their co-workers. I mean, it would probably be bad if two co-workers kissed each other on a work-related retreat, though, right? Okay, so it’s more like two classmates who are working on a project together and the project might get forgotten for a bit while they share a pizza. But the pizza is really delicious, so they make plans to order more pizza and --…  _ oh my God, you’re right. _ ” Marinette said with a jolt. 

She looked off into the distance. It didn’t make any sense. She wasn’t spewing how much she would like to have three kids, a dog, or a hamster with him. (He’d be the damn cat.) It was impossible for her to hope to just run into him because she didn’t actually know who he was. She actually had no way to know everything about his life and schedule and keep track of him. What’s more, that lack of knowledge didn’t drive her crazy. She was just content and happy when he was nearby. His jokes made her smile. She didn’t mind the sudden touches. She hated it -  _ hated  _ it - when he seemed to stop calling her his lady. Sometimes she thought his words were only for her. She just wanted… him.

“You’re right,” she said again, putting her hands to her head. “You’re right! I... I don’t know how this happened! I’ve…” she gestured a hand meekly in front of her, “fallen for Chat Noir.”

“You’re showing it now, at least. But you fell for him a long time ago,” Tikki said, patting the girl’s arm.

“... what?”

“It’s subtle. But there are a lot of signs there. I’m the kwami of creation, Marinette. I have a knack for seeing when things begin.”

Marinette stared at the little bug kwami, her eye twitching slightly. “That’s... that can’t be true.”

“Your go-to excuse when you thought he was going to figure out that you were Ladybug was that you were in love with him.”

“I thought he was going to figure it out!”

“You were on your  _ own balcony _ !” Tikki had a familiar look of long-suffering annoyance on her face. She looked at Kaalki, as though to say, ‘ _ You see what I have to put up with _ ?’ “That was the best excuse she could come up with,” she told the horse kwami.

“I-I was thinking on my feet!” Marinette sputtered.

“Really?” Kaalki said, confused. “But... what simpler excuse could there be but that you  _ live  _ here?” Marinette wanted to get mad at the little horse for pointing out the obvious. But Tikki continued.

“You were happy that he still loved Ladybug.”

“W-well, it just proved to me his love is real!” She folded her arms in front of her. “Ladybug needs love, too.”

“You got jealous when he flirted with... well, anyone.”

“I did NOT get jealous,” Marinette said. “The Ryuko thing was just because I thought he was  _ trying  _ to make me jealous.”

“And when he met Rena? And Volpina?”

“It was weird seeing him talk to Alya that way, but I didn’t say anything about it,” Marinette defended. “And... come on! Lila?  _ Lila? _ ”

“You didn’t know she was Lila then.” Marinette put up her hand to protest before she paused. Thinking back, Tikki was right. She was just turned off to see Chat being flirted with by some random girl they had just met, and the flirtation being returned. Tikki continued. “And you were way more aggressive than you should have been when the Sentimonster Ladybug tried to kiss him.”

Marinette saw red at the memory. “He shouldn’t have been fooled so easily!” she said. “I figured out CopyCat when we knew each other for a lot less time! He should know me! And going to kiss some other girl that he thought was me?” She felt more heated than she should have. Then she realized the real reason she should have been angry. “A-and, she was just trying to take his ring, anyway. I was protecting him.”

“You could have pulled them apart, yelled to bring attention to yourself, yoyo-ed the Sentimonster away from him. Instead, you threw them both in opposite directions.  _ Threw them _ , Marinette. With quite a bit of force.”

“ _ He was about to kiss her _ !” Marinette said, trying to control her volume. She really hated that memory. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, pouting.

Had she really fallen for Chat Noir so long ago? She was always protective of him - that was all. He was hers to protect, and she was his to protect. They were partners, keeping each other safe. The only thing that took precedence was Paris.

Something cracked in her. A memory surfaced of Chat Blanc saying how their love had destroyed Paris. Their  _ love _ . And even though it was another timeline in what seemed like a distant world that could never come true, she knew the statement, at least,  _ was  _ true. It hurt to think that their love for one another could create so much destruction. And it caused her no end of pain. She remembered feeling herself closing off that side of her that wanted to love him. She forced herself to keep Chat Noir as a friend. If the choice was love or Paris, she would choose Paris. And it didn’t matter if she had Adrien to focus on.

But now, her mind was a mess. The crack released all the realizations - the moments where she pushed away the feelings she didn’t quite understand. She remembered him saying to her how his favorite moments were with her, and it made her stress melt away. It warmed her heart, and she wanted to always feel that way around him.

Then her thoughts trickled to New York, how much it pained her when he left. The idea that she might never see him again. How she had Plagg in her purse, and wondered who Chat Noir was going to talk to about akumas, superheroes, memories, and just life. And she was so incredibly happy to see him again. Because he was her partner, her friend. He was back in her life. Her heart felt whole again.

Theirs was a bond unlike any other. She wasn’t sure how it would have felt to lose any other friend in that way - never able to see them again. Yes, losing Alya would be painful, but losing Chat Noir was like a dagger through the heart. Even with Adrien, she always had a way to see him again. Friendships came and went throughout the years, but she wanted Chat Noir as part of her future.

Marinette put a hand to her mouth. This was a long time coming. She didn’t know what any of it meant or what would happen, but it was there, in front of her. Could she be Ladybug to his Chat Noir when he was so much more to her now? Could she concentrate on saving Paris if he was his usual flirty self with her now that they’ve broken a barrier?  _ What did any of this mean? _

“Marinette?” Tikki asked, her look of frustration having turned to one of concern.

Marinette looked up, the truth of the matter bubbling up inside her and coming up into words. “I love him, Tikki.”

Tikki looked to Kaalki in surprise, before turning back to her owner. She smiled. “I’m glad that you can finally—”

“ _ How did this happen?! _ ” she yelled, before dramatically burying her head in her arms on her desk.

Tikki had the audacity to giggle. “These things happen with humans.”

“But what about Adrien?”

“You’ll figure that out in time,” she said reassuringly, patting her shoulder.

“What do I do now?” she said, raising her head up. 

“Greeting him on your balcony when he comes by would be a good start.”

Marinette took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Okay,” she said. She said her goodbyes to Kaalki and put her miraculous away. Determined, she climbed the steps to her bed and climbed out on the balcony.

\-----

Chat Noir landed on the smokestack with a careful precision that produced almost no audible sound. Marinette was sitting on her lounge chair, a blanket draped over her as she scrolled through a blog post on her tablet. Her jiggling leg gave away her nervous energy. Her breath came out in little puffs of white. He hadn’t noticed the cold too much, running around getting things ready. He had blankets, but now he wondered if they were enough.

“You’re already giving me the  _ cold-shoulder _ , and I only just got here,” he said, hopping down from the smokestack. Marinette sat up immediately, looking up at him. He smiled at her. She blushed in return. Which was adorable. Or maybe her cheeks were just rosy from the cold. Which was still cute, but he would feel slightly guilty for thinking it was. “You didn’t have to wait for me outside. I could have knocked on the hatch door.”

He knelt down in front of her, adjusting the blanket to cover her a little more. She was wearing a cold-weather outfit - a pink blazer with a white sweater underneath, dark blue jeans, and a heavy grey scarf - a good sign that she thought about dressing warm for a long night out.

“I...wanted to be prepared,” she said. “Just in case.”

“In case I sweep you off your feet, and show you the moon and stars?” he asked, putting his arm out in a big flourish.

“Well, I mean… I’m not too sure what to expect,” she said, looking away and grabbing a box, fidgeting with it. “I just didn’t want to end things too soon on a technicality.” She shrugged, looking anywhere but at the boy in front of her. “I’ve...never done anything like this before. I mean, I’ve been out with friends and stuff, but never an official date.”

“Not even…” Chat Noir had to bite his tongue as not to mention Luka. “...as a double date?”

“I’ve never really dated,” she said, looking down at the box in her lap. “I’ve been out with friends, hung out with people I like, but going out with one person in particular with the idea that it was a date...it’s just never happened before.”

He tried not to let the tingly feeling take over. She was officially on her first date _ with him _ . He smiled. “Sooo, I don’t want to be too forward, but...is that for me?”

She looked to the box on her lap, then held it out for him in such a forceful motion, he recoiled. “I just thought you might like some pastries, is all.” She looked at the box, not at him.

He leaned down a bit, trying to catch her gaze. Her eyes flickered from the box to his face, before they locked on his eyes. “What’s with avoiding eye contact?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, taking the box. “You’ve never seemed to have that problem before.”

She crossed her arms and looked away. “I’ve just had a lot to think about tonight.”

He had worried about that. After everything that happened that morning, she must have really been reconsidering everything happening that night. Reconsidering how she viewed the kiss. Reconsidering him. “And… what’s your conclusion?”

She frowned, furrowing her brow. “I’ll keep that to myself, for now, thanks.”

Chat Noir tried not to think about that too much. He  _ did  _ say that dating someone was trying to figure out if someone was worth it. Instead, he made a show of jiggling the box in his hands. He looked around the edges, sniffed it, thoroughly investigated it. “Just open it!” Marinette said, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled as he opened the box. He was a little too excited to see the pastries wrapped in heart print tissue paper. Inside were croissants, pain au chocolate, puits d’amour, tartlets, macarons, and a little circular disk with an ox design on it. “Oh, a mooncake!” he said, excitedly taking one out and taking a bite.

“We’re making them for Chinese New Year. Passing out samples, actually, so we have extra. It’s pretty close to Valentine’s day, so we have a bit of holiday crossover happening right now. We’re making lychee-flavored ones, too, which I like better, but those ones we’re selling. It’s a little hard to sneak one away for you.” 

“You stole food for me?” he said with a lop-sided grin.

Marinette scoffed. “I helped make these pastries, I have a right to take a few if I please.”

His eyes lit up. “You  _ made  _ pastries for me?”

Marinette stammered for a moment before finding her voice, “I made many pastries! Anyone could have made those. I have no idea who made those pastries. Except for the macarons - I made those myself.”

“So...you made pastries for me.”

Marinette blushed. “I’m making some to give to my classmates! It’s not a big deal if I took some for you.”

He picked up a pink macaron and investigated it. He never thought about where Ladybug got her pastries for Tikki from. How had he never made that connection before? He looked up to see Marinette looking at him curiously. In a momentary panic, he shoved the macaron into his mouth. Then spent the next moment trying to chew and swallow quickly while Marinette looked on with a judgemental look on her face.

“S’good,” he managed to say, wishing he had remembered that Marinette could not read his mind, or know what he knew.

“Need water?” she asked.

“Mmeph, pleesh.”

Marinette let out a chortle as she opened the hatch and hoped into her room. She came back out a moment later with a bottle of water. He downed it, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Sooo,” he said. “How great of a time would I have to show you to get you to forget that?”

“Oh, that moment is burned into my memory,” she said with a smile.

“Oh. Great. At least there’s something about this night you’ll never forget.” He looked again into the box. “So! Chinese New Year. Year of the Ox?” Chat Noir looked Marinette over and grinned. 

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You should wear your hair in two buns for Chinese New Year,” he said. “I already know you’ll look great in it.”

It took Marinette a moment to realize what he meant before she closed the pastry box and pulled it away from him, with a small whine from the boy. “Calm down, Kit—uh-Chat,” she said. He grinned. “We’re leaving behind the year of the rat. And anyway, Multimouse is not coming back anytime soon.”

‘ _ Of course not, my lady _ ,’ he thought. Outloud, he said. “Well, if that concludes the meal portion of the date, maybe we can continue to the entertainment part.” He got up and held out a clawed hand. Marinette smiled. She took her tablet and tossed it into the hatch, before taking his hand. She allowed him to pick her up, before cuddling closer for his warmth. He wasn’t about to complain. “Bring the blanket,” he said. 

She looked at him in surprise. “What for?”

He shrugged. “To keep you from getting too cold? Of course, if you just want a reason to cuddle up to me all night, you can leave it behind.”

Marinette pursed her lips and frowned. She motioned for him to kneel down, while she picked up the blanket and bundled it into her lap. “We’re... not going to be in public, are we?”

“I’ll try to pretend you just want me to yourself when you say it like that.” Marinette gave him a sad, concerned look. “I know, I know. Don’t worry. I’ve pre-swept the area for cameras, the route for spectators, and the roof access to make sure we won’t be surprised by anyone. I could pretend like I just want to be romantic… but I think we can both agree, notoriety sucks.”

“It really does,” Marinette said, leaning her head against his chest.

He let out a chuckle. And with a leap, he took off into the Paris night.


	14. Hot Cocoa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after more than doubling the date chapter, splitting it into two, rearranging certain events, and accidentally watching multiple episodes of Miraculous Ladybug when I only meant to do a little research to reference in the chapters, I've come to the conclusion...that I really need to care less if I ever want to finish this story. *sigh* I've already vastly overshot my timeline for uploading it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy a little marshmallow fluff.

Chat Noir had planned the first half of their night carefully. The two flew through the air, the lights of Paris flying by. Marinette held tightly to him, looking around as though she were afraid of who might see them. While he could understand after everything she had been through, he hoped to solve the problem of a distracted Marinette. 

He could see the toll everything was taking on her. He couldn’t quite describe what was different about her when he first showed up. But with any luck, he could make it up to her. They could both forget their troubles for one night, forget that spectators had taken away their moments, and it could just be the two of them for a little while.

There was only one person he could trust with his plan for the first half of their date. It wasn’t exactly ideal - a perfect date would involve both of them being able to show their faces in public without worrying about what a bunch of strangers would say. Instead, he hoped what he had put together at the last minute would work. Mostly, he hoped she would find it endearing rather than annoying that he involved someone else.

They landed on top of a rooftop with a small fire burning in a metal fire pit. Next to that were two cafe chairs seated next to a metal cafe table. There was a vase with one pink and one red rose set up, with baby’s breath strewn in to make it look just a little fancier. Most of the rooftop garden was still dormant in early February, but there were a few irises and camellia in bloom. Chat Noir smiled as he set Marinette down.

She looked around in surprise, before spinning around, eyes wide. “This is someone’s rooftop garden,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said with a grin, crossing his arms as he watched her reaction.

“And we’re just going to use it? Like it’s ours? What if someone finds us?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already made arrangements. I think you’ll be very surprised! Well, you already _are_ very surprised.”

Marinette fretted as she looked around. He was a little disappointed she wasn’t as impressed as he had hoped, but he had expected a little push back. She was a worrier, after all. “Take a seat,” he said, pointing a clawed hand at the two seats near the fire. “I think it’d be good to warm up a little.”

Marinette seemed to wage a war with herself, whether she should outright scold the boy or trust that he had everything under control. Trusting him won out, and she stiffly made her way to the chair, placed her blanket down, and sat. “Wait here,” he said, spinning around. He jolted to a stop when she pulled on his tail. He turned around.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” she asked. He tilted his head and gave her an encouraging smile. 

“I promise, I’ve made all the arrangements. I just didn’t know when we’d be here.” He walked up to her and leaned down. He gently tilted up her head and pressed his forehead to hers. “I know you’ll miss me dearly,” he mused, “but I’ll be right back.” He gave her a quick peck on the tip of her cold nose, before turning to walk towards the door.

He walked down the stairs and checked the hallway before making his way to the correct apartment. He was about to knock when he realized there was a paper taped to the door. ‘Menu’ was written in fancy calligraphy, and a selection of three hot drinks was available to choose from. He smiled as he looked at the choices, then marked down two hot cocoas, before sliding it under the door and knocking.

Scurrying back up the stairs, he saw Marinette standing by the chain-link fence guarding the edge of the building. Ivy was curling its way up the fence, with large leaves creating something like a green wall. The ivy was carefully cut away to create windows to see the view. No great visuals to speak of, but simply seeing the city of love lit up at night, the Eiffel Tower in the distance, made for great ambiance. “I had to order for you,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Order?” she asked, looking over at him, raising an eyebrow. “What…? Are we eating?”

“Just ‘going out for a coffee’ to get to know each other better,” he said, using air quotes. “It’s one of the date ideas I read about. And probably one of the only ones I could recreate in secret.”

Marinette seemed at once impressed and flabbergasted. “I don’t really drink coffee,” she said.

“I don’t either,” he said. “So I ordered cocoas. Unless you wanted tea. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind making something different when he brings it up. Shall we sit?”

“I’m so confused,” she said as he led her to her seat, pulling back the chair for her. “Is this the roof of a coffee shop?” Her face fell. “Not the one where you called the new station, is it?”

“No, no, no!” he said. “It’s not a shop at all. Just getting help from someone.” They both sat down. She sat stiffly as she looked at him, dubious of his claims. “You don’t trust me?” he asked.

“I do,” she said quickly, “But I don’t know what you’re up to.”

“I thought curiosity was supposed to kill _the cat_ , not his date.”

“Maybe the date killed the cat because she wasn’t in the mood for surprises.” 

He meant to retort before letting what she said sink in. He frowned. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m a superhero. I’m practically indestructible right now.” Marinette raised an eyebrow, giving the boy a once-over, before finally allowing herself to relax a little. She put out her hands to warm it by the fire. “I’m glad you finally _chilled_ out.”

“Haha, I’m cold, very funny,” she said. She rubbed her hands in front of the flames. “I should have brought gloves.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t get _cold feet_ ,” he said. She gave him a look. He smiled. “Really, though, you were nervous to come out tonight, but you came out anyway.” He smiled wider. “It makes me think you might g _love_ me.”

“Oh, dear.”

“And it gives us a chance to break the _ice._ ”

“Is this going to stop anytime soon, or…?”

“So when did you _snow_ you loved me?” She looked at him in surprise. He grinned. “Was it love at _frostbite_?”

She stared blankly for a second, then frowned. “First sight. I get it. That one was a bit of a stretch.”

“Should I keep going? Or should I stop _cold_ turkey?”

“You should act like one of the _cool_ kids,” she said. “And stop with the puns. It will give me a chance to _warm up_ to you more.” He couldn’t help but smile in appreciation. The woman of his dreams.

The door to the building opened, and Marinette jumped, sitting up straight. Chat Noir looked back and smiled, before turning back to Marinette. Her jaw dropped as she recognized their server for the evening.

Andre Glacier walked out wearing his familiar beret, striped shirt, and apron. But rather than carrying his usual ice cream scooper, he had a tray with two glass mugs filled with hot chocolate, topped with whip cream. He made a big show of placing the tray down on the table. “For the lovebirds,” he said. “The house special.”

“Andre?” Marinette asked, a wide grin on her face as she looked up at him. “I thought you only did ice cream!”

“Marinette, my dear! Your days of sighing alone on a bench are at rest.” He looked to Chat Noir. “Peach pink and mint, huh? See? Andre knows best.” Marinette blushed.

“Peach pink and mint?” Chat Noir asked.

“Like his lips and his eyes!” Andre said.

“We don’t need to talk about that!” Marinette said a little too loudly.

Andre laughed as Chat Noir looked on with interest. “Oh, no worries, I understand. I’m just glad that the magic of the ice cream has finally come through for you!”

Marinette shifted in her seat, unsure of what to do with the sudden attention. “So…” she said, looking down at the hot chocolate. “If the ice cream is magical, what does the hot chocolate do?”

“Warms you up!” he said merrily as he spread his arms wide. “Who would know better how to warm up after working in the cold all day than an ice cream maker?”

Chat Noir picked up his glass and took a sip. “Mmm,” he said, licking the whipped cream off of his lip. “It’s delicious!”

“Hand chopped chocolate bars. None of that cocoa powder stuff,” Andre said as Marinette tried hers as well. “For the best results, I always use the best ingredients!” He smiled at the two of them. “And with that, I’ll leave you two in the best company!” He turned to Chat Noir. “It’s been an honor to help you impress your love tonight, Chat Noir!” Marinette put a hand to her cheek to hide a blush. “If you’d like anymore, just knock on my door!” Marinette and Chat Noir waved goodbye as he walked back into the building.

“You asked the best ice cream maker in Paris to make us hot chocolate just so we could avoid being seen in public?” she asked.

“He’s always going on about love,” he said, shrugging. “And he’s helped us out once fighting a Sentimonster when I was dressed as a banana...no questions asked. I figured I could trust him to help me without word getting out.”

Marinette covered her mouth, trying to hide a smile. He hoped she was remembering Bananoir with a certain fondness. After taking a moment to compose herself, she took another sip. “This is so good,” she said, gingerly tasting the whipped cream. “Is this marshmallow whipped cream?”

Chat Noir took a bit on his finger and tasted it. “That man is a genius. I just thought he’d use a packet or something. I told him it didn’t have to be fancy.”

Marinette laughed. “I don’t think he’s one to do anything half-hearted.”

Chat Noir fiddled with his mug. “Soooo…. want to talk about those ice cream flavors?”

Marinette gave him a look. “No,” she said. “Unless you have some ice cream confessions to make for yourself.”

He smiled. Strawberry with chocolate chip, blackberry for her hair, blueberry for her sky blue stare. He was glad Andre chose not to bring that up. He couldn’t imagine the can of worms that would have opened up. But then again, Andre was a connoisseur of love - he probably knew better than to bring it up. “None that I can think of,” he stopped himself from calling her his lady. 

What could he call her as Marinette? Calling Ladybug his lady just came naturally because of her name. He enjoyed calling her Marinetta, but only because it was fun to add the extra syllable. It would be weird if he called her something her grandmother called her. He’d have to think about it for a bit.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

He panicked slightly inside. He couldn’t say he was thinking of what he called Ladybug. _Think_ , he thought to himself, _think_! “Your grandmother.” He wanted to smack himself in the forehead.

“You think about my family a lot,” she said, sipping her cocoa. “But not usually with that look of concentration on your face.”

He cringed. How could he possibly save face? “Well, no, just… I liked her nickname for you. It was cute.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that before,” she said, remembering back to their first sit down.

“Right,” he said. He sighed. Might as well give her most of the truth. “It’s just… nicknames are really cute, and I was trying to think of one for you.” He made a big show of shrugging. “There, I said it. Spoil the surprise! But I guess you said you weren’t in the mood for surprises tonight.”

“Any contenders yet?”

“I don’t know,” he said, leaning forward, resting his head on his hand. “Still planning to call me kitty?” Her eyes widened, and she blushed. He smiled at the reaction. “Nicknames aren’t that easy, are they?” Part of him wanted to call her Sugar Cube until he remembered where he heard that before. Certain that Tikki was in her bag, he was not about to clue the kwami into him knowing who Ladybug was.

“Well, a classmate of mine has taken to calling you a fleabag. That sounds like a contender.”

He frowned - for the fact that Chloe had such aggression towards her former favorite heroes, and also that he was almost certain she had never called him a fleabag. Flea-ridden, maybe…

“Not funny,” he said, crinkling his nose.

“A little funny,” she said. The look on his face must have been very amusing because she laughed. The twinkling sound in his ear made him smile. She was finally relaxing.

The two sat and talked while they slowly polished off their cocoa. As time passed, his worry about Marinette not being able to enjoy herself melted away. She leaned in, laughed at his jokes, matched his wit (or lack thereof) with her own, and even invited him to scoot closer. They danced around certain topics that would reveal too much about who he was.

“Egypt,” he said when naming places they had never been to but would like to go. “You know, they say they worshipped cats and were even buried with them.”

“Well, if we ever went, I’ll bury you in the sand and you can be a part of history.”

“You laugh, but I’d totally do it,” he said with a smile.

Marinette had at one point moved her chair away from the fire as she was getting too hot, or so she said. The fact that she was leaning closer to him was not lost on him. 

“It was kind of a big deal,” she said when talking about the hat she had designed for the fashion show. He tried hard to pretend he did not know what she was talking about. “And the designer is one of my favorites, and it was a great chance for me. Plus, my friend modeled it on stage, which was... nice.” She had a funny look on her face as she recalled it.

“Oh, yeah, Adrien,” he tried to say absentmindedly.

She looked at him in surprise, before frowning. “Right... yeah, you probably saw the video and all.”

If he could kick himself in the face, he would. “N-no! I mean… well, yeah, I did, but I mean, that’s not why I remember him. How many other models do you go to school with, right?”

She frowned and looked away, distracting herself by sipping on her cocoa. “I guess that’s true.” But she looked despondent all the same.

He looked at her with sadness as she looked off into the distance. He needed to change the subject. “Soooo, is your dad upset that I never took him up on his offer to learn to cook?”

She shrugged, trying to refocus her attention. “He likes to teach. I’m sure whoever I end up with won’t get away without at least learning the basics of pastry making.”

He tried not to focus on her uncertainty of ending up with him.

After ordering another round of hot cocoas, it surprised Chat Noir to see Marinette was ready with a question of her own as he sat back down. “Have you ever dated anyone?”

The question slightly took him aback. “Well,” he said. “I was seeing someone for a while, but… I don’t know if you’d call it dating. I can’t get too into it,” he said, wondering just how much she and Kagami talked, “but there were often obstacles in the way. It just got more frustrating as time went on, and we kind of never got over those obstacles.”

“You….” she seemed to fight with herself, as though she knew better than to ask the question. “Did you love her?”

“No,” he said, wincing. He sounded fickle and didn’t like that. “I wanted to. But we just weren’t right for each other.”

“No offense,” she said, “but you don’t seem like the type of person who would date someone for a while and not be head over heels in love with them.”

He smiled at Marinette, “you sit around thinking about who I’d date?”

“No,” she said, leaning back and crossing her arms. “I’m just saying, you seem like the type of person to fall hard for someone and not want to let go.” She almost sounded annoyed when she said it. He felt the prickling of rejection he normally got from Ladybug and wondered if he had ruined any chance of being with her by being too intense about his feelings. That realization made him feel sick to his stomach.

“W-well,” he said, turning away from her, playing with his empty mug. “I-I mean, I didn’t mean to…”

Marinette watched him falter with his words, before touching him gently on the arm. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing,” she whispered. He looked over at her, almost too embarrassed to look her in the eye. “I just meant you don’t seem the type to date casually. So, I would think that you cared about the girl you dated.”

He looked down at his glass and frowned. Of course, he cared about Kagami. His heart just wasn’t there. His heart was with Ladybug, no matter what he tried. And then with Marinette. And the two were one and the same. “Should we talk about people we dated on a date with each other?”

“Probably not,” she admitted.

“Should we change subject?”

She was quiet for a moment, before saying, “The nightmare akuma was a really interesting one.” He looked at her curiously. “The person I love was chasing me around, telling me how much he was in love with someone else,” she admitted.

He couldn’t help himself. “I’m sorry my nightmare self chased you,” he said with a coy smile.

She smacked him playfully on the chest. “Not you!”

Maybe Chat Noir was a bit of a love-struck kitten, resting his hand on his head as he admired Marinette in everything she did and said, with every motion she made and every laugh. The boy knew he had it bad. Marinette was an oasis in a desert plagued with drought. Every touch filled him with hope in his hopeless landscape. Every word she spoke was a promise to steal him away from a life devoid of the care he longed for. Every smile was a bright star leading his way in the night.

Every thought he had about her was a love-sick metaphor.

He hated to be walking around landmines of what would reveal his real self to her. He hated being afraid of how she would react to it. But he longed for the days he didn’t have to hide that part of himself anymore. They could be so good together. They could be happy. And seeing those bluebell eyes look up at him, like she cared for him the way he did for her, made him willing to do anything to make this work.

“--and while I have a lot of responsibility on my plate,” she said of their current topic, “I think having a hamster around would be a welcome responsibility! At least I get enjoyment out of it other than a job well done, right?”

“Are you hoping to convince your parents with that, or me?” he asked.

She sighed. “My parents aren’t going to be convinced anytime soon. They say they’d rather I focus on my studies and but really, my mom thinks a hamster would stink up the place.”

“But they’re so cute,” Chat Noir said.

“I know,” she said with a pout. She looked up at him, still pouting. It hit him like a punch to the gut.

“Hey,” he said, grinning, “careful with those puppy dog eyes. I’m this close to buying you as many hamsters as you can fit into your room.”

She looked shocked for a second, then laughed lightly. “I didn’t know I could wield this power!” She grinned mischievously. “I’ll only use it for good.” She looked over to the side of the table, then her eyes widened. “When did we get our drinks?” 

Chat Noir looked over, surprised that they had indeed received their cocoas while completely ignoring the person who brought them. He picked it up - still warm, but the whipped topping had melted halfway down. “I hope he didn’t think we were being rude.”

“Knowing him, he was probably thrilled we were more focused on each other than him.” She took a sip of her drink and smiled as she made a small noise of appreciation. “How much did all this cost you?”

“He insisted on doing it for free as a thank you for saving Paris so many times,” Chat Noir said, leaning back in his seat and downing more than half the hot chocolate in a race against the drink getting lukewarm. “I might leave him a little something before we go.”

“It’s nice,” she said. “That he’d do this for us. Especially after he got akumatized because of me.”

“Yeaah,” Chat Noir said, remembering that night where the ice-cream man was clearly gunning for Marinette. “Why was that?”

She looked up, eyes wide, before smiling nervously. “Oh, you know,” she said, making a big show of shrugging. “I was upset, and I guess I was kind of rude to him.”

“I can’t imagine how you’d be rude to Andre,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re too nice, and so is he.”

“I’m not ‘too nice’,” she said, leaning back on her chair. “I have my bad nights, too.”

“If I remember correctly,” he said, his leather tail curling upward as he got comfortable in his seat. “You said you got your heart broken that night.” She turned red as her eyes widened. Intrigued, he leaned in closer. “You know who I was heartbroken over. How about you?”

Marinette gave him a look. It screamed, ‘careful, kitty.’ But he just leaned closer, putting his chin in his hand, watching her with intrigue. She sank down, putting her hot cocoa down. “I was meeting with friends,” she said. “There was someone else who was supposed to be there that night. But I ended up alone, surrounded by couples, in front of one of the most romantic ice cream makers who wanted me to believe in his magic ice cream.” She shrugged. “He kept pushing me, saying that if I take the ice cream, my love will materialize! I didn’t feel like believing in ice cream right then. I just wanted a chance with the person I loved.”

“First of all, that sounds like a lousy situation to be in. Second, ‘ _one_ of the most romantic ice cream makers’?” He asked. “There are _multiple_ romantic ice cream makers in Paris?”

She turned red as she gave a shy smile. “Well… it _is_ the city of love!”

“Who are the others?” He raised his glass to his lips.

“Otto the gelato guy.”

He coughed out a laugh, glad he had not yet taken a sip. “ _That’s not a real person!_ ”

Marinette’s face turned red as she laughed. “I know! I misspoke earlier!”

“Gelato isn’t even ice cream!”

“No, but it’s a good name for a gelato guy, right?” she said, smiling.

Chat Noir let his laugh die out as he vaguely remembered that night. He was supposed to be there, but his father wouldn’t let him go out. He didn’t remember Nino mentioning someone else coming along. It probably would have been awkward to ask him now, so long after the fact. He probably didn’t even remember. Then again, maybe Nino wouldn’t have known. Maybe it was something that Marinette planned on her own. “Well, he wasn’t wrong. My mint green eyes saw you on the balcony, and I didn’t want to be lonely that night. Maybe your love _did_ materialize that night?”

Marinette paused, looking off into the distance, as though she had never considered that. “Y-yeah... that’s...”

He watched her carefully as she considered what he had said. After a moment, he had pity on her. “Maybe you should tell me who this guy who stood you up is? I can thank him for getting out of the way so we could have this night together.”

“Uh-huh,” Marinette said, looking at him incredulously. “I think that much I’ll keep a secret.”

“You can trust me,” he said with a wink. “It’s not like I’d be jealous of him. He took himself out of the running.” Marinette made a face, before looking back down at her hot chocolate. Chat Noir didn’t know how to interpret that look. It took him a moment. “Unless... he hasn’t.”

She put down her drink. “You still love Ladybug?” she asked. He blinked. Okay, that was fair. Though he knew they had to be the same person. So maybe not as fair as she thought it was…

“I’m not some kind of jealous person,” he said, hoping she didn’t know how Copycat got akumatized. “I can keep my cool.”

“You’re a nosey person,” she said, leaning in, raising an eyebrow. “And if there comes a time when I don’t have feelings for him anymore, I’ll tell you.”

Chat Noir frowned, leaning back. Why couldn’t she just tell him? He knew better than to pry. He knew it couldn’t be Luka - he was almost certain she didn’t know him back then. But he wanted to respect her wishes. He sighed and looked away. “Alright. I’m sorry. You have a right to keep that secret. But it’d be nice to know.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate, aware that Marinette eyeing him carefully. “So, you didn’t want to believe in magic ice cream right then? Must be really important to him if it got him akumatized.”

Marinette seemed to relax a little. “More than that, I… kind of told him that his ice cream was just ice cream.”

Chat Noir looked at her in surprise. “And he didn’t transform into a giant ice cream man immediately?” Marinette let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Honestly, that should be his natural form. I’m a little surprised he was _actually_ akumatized.”

“Don’t be mean,” she said, blushing slightly. “I felt bad, okay? And I went to get his magical ice cream the next day, so we were square after that.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you guys came to a truce. And over ice cream. See? You’re both too nice.”

“I’m not too nice.”

“You know, the last sword duel was held in the 1960s,” he said with a shrug. “But if you insult a man’s ice cream, I’d understand bringing the practice back.”

Marinette snorted a laugh. “Maybe we’re lucky that we’re both too nice, then.”

He shuffled nervously. “Sooooo... did you ever get to share that ice cream with him?” He looked up at Marinette, who raised an eyebrow. “Or are you still taking your frustrations out on frozen delicacies? Gelato, for example?”

“I’m not,” she said with a laugh, “taking my frustration out on anything. We made our peace with one another. I’ve had some very delicious ice cream, everything’s good.” She shrugged. “But no, I haven’t shared my ice cream in any meaningful way. Except to let my good friend try some.”

“Guy friend?”

“Not-guy friend.” She smiled. “She’s very fond of sweets. In fact, I think she’d be upset that I had some very delicious hot chocolate and didn’t share any with her.”

“Well, with any luck, we’ve just convinced Andre to start a side hustle. Then you can take your friend anytime she’d like.”

They smiled at each other. They had finished the last drops of hot chocolate. Chat Noir leaned in close, intending to kiss her. Marinette pulled away. He looked at her curiously. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just... really weird to kiss in the ice cream man’s garden, right?”

He smiled. “Well, it’s a good thing I planned for that! I’m just going to tell him we’re on our way.” He got up to go tell Andre to close shop, but Marinette stopped him. She pulled out a paper and a pen and wrote a quick thank you note, before handing it to him. He smiled at her before racing inside. Slipping the note under the door, he added his own envelope with some money, before racing back outside.

“Hurry,” he said when he saw Marinette standing up. “I don’t want him to come racing out here demanding I take back my payment.” He scooped her up. “Are you enjoying yourself so far?” he asked. “Or should we call it quits?”

She cuddled close to him, putting the blanket on her lap. “I’m very curious about what phase two of your plan is."

He smiled warmly as she laid her head against his chest before he leaped away from the rooftop garden and into the Parisian night.


End file.
